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The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.6 percent at 7:11 a.m. in New York and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.3 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.4 percent and the euro declined 0.7 percent to $1.2592. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes jumped four basis points to 2.52 percent. Gold declined 0.7 percent.
Consumer prices in the euro region rose an annual 0.3 percent in September, following a reading of 0.4 percent in August, the
European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said. That’s less than a quarter of the European Central Bank’s target, fueling speculation officials will boost stimulus to avert deflation. The ECB next meets on Oct. 2. U.S. consumer confidence probably stayed close to a seven-year high, economists said before a report today.
“The ECB has done a lot already to stimulate economic activity in Europe,” Teis Knuthsen, chief investment officer at Saxo Bank A/S’s private-banking unit, said by phone from Hellerup, Denmark. “The most important consequence of the ECB’s measures has been the euro’s decline. You can’t underestimate how beneficial that will be for companies in Europe.”
Consumer Confidence
A Conference Board report at 10 a.m. in New York may show U.S. consumer confidence climbed this month to its highest level in almost seven years, economists predicted.The Stoxx 600 rose after closing at a one-month low yesterday. It has climbed 0.3 percent in the past three months.
Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December closed yesterday 1.7 percent below the Sept. 18 record. The gauge has risen 0.9 percent this quarter, a seventh straight gain, the longest streak since 1998.
The MSCI All-Country World Index dropped 0.2 percent after closing at its lowest level since Aug. 8. The gauge has lost 2.7 percent this quarter, the biggest decline since 2012.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s largest state-owned lender, jumped 2.6 percent after saying it expects full-year impairments to be lower than the previously estimated.
Cable Gains
Prysmian SpA (PRY) increased 1.2 percent after the world’s largest cable maker predicted no additional costs or delays for its Western Link project. Next Plc tumbled 4.4 percent after saying it will probably cut its annual profit forecast if the warm weather in the U.K. continues throughout October.The value of global equities has climbed by about $20 trillion over the past three years as Fed measures to stimulate the U.S. economy bolstered liquidity and fueled investment in emerging markets. The central bank has been reducing its asset purchase program, known as quantitative easing, by $10 billion a month this year, putting it on track to end in October.
Gold Retreats
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose for an eighth day, headed for a 6.9 percent gain this quarter, the biggest advance since 2008. The euro earlier today fell to $1.259, the lowest since September 2012. Gold declined 0.7 percent to $1,206.78 an ounce, the lowest since Jan. 2. Prices are down 6.2 percent this month, the most since June 2013.Average yields on junk-rated corporate bonds worldwide rose 88 basis points this month to 6.26 percent, the highest level in a year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data. The cost of insuring high-yield debt fell today for the first time in seven days, Bloomberg data show.
“Fundamentals are still broadly supportive of corporate defaults remaining low,” said Nick Burns, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.3 percent, extending this month’s loss to 7.5 percent, the biggest drop since May 2012.
The ruble strengthened 0.1 percent against the central bank’s target basket of dollars and euros, paring the worst quarter in more than five years. The currency is still trading close to the threshold that would prompt the central bank to begin buying rubles according to its policy guidelines.
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