BLBG: U.S., Europe as Treasuries Gain on Retail Sales
By Stephen Kirkland and Nikolaj Gammeltoft
June 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures and European equities fell while Treasuries gained after American retail sales unexpectedly dropped the most since September. Oil declined for the first time in four days, and gold advanced.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in September lost 0.8 percent to 1,071.30 at 9:14 a.m. in New York and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.5 percent, wiping out a 0.9 percent gain. The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased 6 basis points to 3.26 percent. Crude futures slipped 2 percent to $73.94 a barrel in New York. Gold contracts advanced 0.4 percent to $1,227.20 a barrel. The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.2094.
More than $6 trillion has been erased from equity markets worldwide since April 15 as concern Europe’s debt crisis and China’s curbs on lending will slow the global economic recovery. Sales at U.S. retailers dropped in May, signaling consumers boosted savings as employment slowed. Demand plunged at building-material stores, reflecting the end of a government appliance rebate, and sales fell at auto dealers, in contrast to industry figures which showed a gain.
“The market is hypersensitive to any negative data because of the tug-of-war for market direction that exists right now,” said Lawrence Creatura, a Rochester, New York-based fund manager at Federated Investors Inc., which oversees $350 billion. “Weaker-than-expected retail data is likely to be reflected in lower share prices in the short term because of the macro concern that the U.S. consumer will go back into a cocoon.”
Retail sales decreased 1.2 percent, following a 0.6 percent April gain that was larger than previously estimated, the U.S. Commerce Department said today in Washington. Purchases were projected to rise 0.2 percent, according to the median estimate of 76 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Forecasts ranged from a drop of 0.7 percent to a gain of 1 percent.
To contact the reporters for this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Nikolaj Gammeltoft in New York at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net.
