BLBG:Stocks Drop With Euro Before U.S. Data; Treasuries Gain
Stocks fell from the highest level in more than four years and the euro weakened as the currency bloc’s finance ministers prepared to meet in Dublin and before U.S. retail sales data. Commodities dropped for a third day and Treasuries advanced.
The MSCI All-Country World Index (SXXP) dropped 0.3 percent at 6 a.m. in New York, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.3 percent. Emerging market technology stocks fell the most since August after Infosys Ltd.’s sales forecast missed estimates. The 17-nation shared currency dropped 0.8 percent to 129.49 yen and slipped 0.4 percent to $1.3054. The 10-year Treasury note yield fell two basis points to 1.77 percent. The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities dropped 0.8 percent, and oil declined 0.9 percent in New York.
European finance ministers will try to reach an agreement on extending rescue-loan maturities for Ireland and Portugal at their meeting in Dublin, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said. Data today will probably show U.S. retail sales stalled in March. Cyprus’s President Nicos Anastasiades will seek an increase to the nation’s 10 billion-euro bailout from the European Union, according to a government official, who asked not to be identified.
“A solid week of gains has satiated the bulls,” said Jonathan Sudaria, an analyst in London at Capital Spreads, which provides trading services for retail customers. “One reason for the bulls taking a little money off the table is the start of the two-day Ecofin meeting where an extension to Portugal’s bailout repayment terms are set to be discussed. The ballooning Cypriot bailout and the issue of Slovenia are sure to raise uncertainty.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.6 percent as automakers and banks declined. The gauge has still rallied 2.1 percent this week, on course for the biggest gain in a month.
Telecom Italia
Cap Gemini, Atos and Software AG lost more than 2.5 percent today on Infosys’s sales forecast. Telecom Italia SpA advanced 2.7 percent after saying Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. would want control of the combined entity formed in a possible merger.
The decline in S&P 500 (SPX) futures indicated the U.S. gauge will drop from a record. The benchmark index has more than doubled from its 12-year low in March 2009, helped by the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented bond purchases and three straight years of profit growth.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest U.S. banks by market value, are due to report earnings today. Data may show U.S. retail sales were unchanged last month after a 1.1 percent gain in February, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is due to speak at a conference today.
Yen Rallies
The yen strengthened at least 0.5 percent against all of its 16 major peers, climbing the most against the South African rand and New Zealand dollar. It appreciated 0.5 percent to 99.16 per dollar.
Italian 10-year bonds fell for a second day, pushing the yield three basis points higher to 4.36 percent. German bund yields fell three basis points to 1.27 percent as investors sought Europe’s safest fixed-income assets.
The cost of insuring Japanese corporate bonds from non- payment using the Markit iTraxx Japan index fell 1.6 basis points to 88 basis points, the lowest level since April 2010, according to CMA, which is owned by McGraw-Hill Cos. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the private market.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) fell for the first time in four days, losing 0.8 percent. Infosys, India’s second-largest software exporter, plunged 22 percent, the most in 10 years, and India’s Sensex index sank 1.7 percent, the most in a week. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3 percent before a report on China’s first-quarter economic growth on April 15. Russia’s Micex Index slid 1 percent.
South Korea
South Korea’s Kospi index slid 1.3 percent and the won snapped a three-day rally. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency has reported that North Korea now has some nuclear weapons small enough to be delivered by its ballistic missiles. The DIA cautioned in a classified report last month that it has only “moderate confidence” in that finding, which also said the reliability of North Korea’s missiles “will be low.”
Zinc fell 1.2 percent and nickel dropped 0.9 percent. Wheat advanced 0.8 percent as cold weather may damage developing crops. Gold for immediate delivery fell 1 percent to $1,545.62 an ounce.
West Texas Intermediate oil fell to $92.54 a barrel. Brent crude for May settlement fell 1.1 percent to $103.10 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The International Energy Agency yesterday reduced its estimates for global oil demand.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at Swallace6@bloomberg.net;
