BLBG: U.S. Index Futures, Dollar Little Changed Before Payrolls Data
Europe, U.S. shares heading for first weekly drops in three
Bonds rally this week on bets the Fed will keep rates on hold
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
U.S. index futures were little changed, and the dollar trimmed its worst week since 2009 as investors awaited a monthly U.S. jobs report. Oil pared gains, and European stocks erased an advance.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.1 percent, and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after slumping this week as traders boosted bets the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold this year. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased gains, while oil rose 0.7 percent. Fixed-income securities across the world have rallied in the past five days as policy makers painted a gloomy picture of the world economy. Gold climbed, extending a third weekly gain.
Concern the U.S. is vulnerable to global headwinds has dominated markets this week, fueling a retreat in the dollar and stocks, and pushing futures traders to price in no Fed rate hikes this year. Economists forecast a 190,000 gain in January nonfarm payrolls from 292,000, the weakest reading since September, with the unemployment rate holding at 5 percent. While a weaker dollar makes commodities more appealing in other currencies, oil is heading for its first weekly loss since mid-January as U.S. inventories rise to a record.
“Oil prices are still calling the shots when it comes to market direction,” said Steven Santos, a broker at Banco de Investimento Global SA in Lisbon. “Let’s see what today’s jobs report holds in store -- we know the Fed is data dependent, but it’s definitely taking global risks into account. A strong number could lift investor sentiment.”
Stocks
Futures on the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent at 8:18 a.m. in New York, while the Stoxx 600 dropped 0.2 percent after fluctuating between gains and losses. Both equity gauges are heading for their first declines in three weeks, while miners worldwide have rallied the most among industry groups.
(An earlier version of this story was corrected to amend the size of Japan’s money-market industry and direction of copper’s move in last paragraph.)
