U.S. Stocks Advance on Renewed Stimulus Hopes: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. equities rose and the dollar weakened amid signs of progress in Washington toward a fresh fiscal-stimulus package.

The Nasdaq 100 rose more than 1% as top U.S. officials planned to resume talks on aid and after initial jobless claims came in slightly lower than forecast. European stocks advanced, led by technology firms and retailers, after STMicroelectronics NV raised its revenue guidance and retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB reported profits that beat even the highest broker estimate.

Gold advanced, while the dollar index declined with Treasuries. Oil fell below $40 a barrel on concern about oversupply.

U.S. stock markets have been whipsawed this week by speculation over whether lawmakers will agree to provide new pandemic-relief aid. House leaders postponed a vote Wednesday on a Democrat-only stimulus bill to give Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi one more day to negotiate a compromise package.

“Mnuchin’s latest proposal is certainly significantly more expansive than what Senate Republicans have been pushing and would be essentially in-line with what the market has been thinking about,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX. “There clearly is hope for this on Washington and Wall Street.”

In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading for the entire day Thursday because of technical problems. The exchange will replace hardware and restart its system, aiming to resume trading Friday.

In Europe, Bayer AG shares fell as much as 13% in Frankfurt after the agriculture and pharma giant issued a profit warning. Engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc dropped after announcing a share sale.

Here are some key events coming up:

The September U.S. employment report on Friday will be the last before the November election.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index increased 0.8% as of 9:31 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.3%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.4%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2%.The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2898.The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 105.68 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased three basis points to 0.71%.Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to -0.51%.Britain’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.28%.New Zealand’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.505%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 3.2% to $38.93 a barrel.Gold strengthened 0.9% to $1,902.22 an ounce.Silver strengthened 1.5% to $23.49 per ounce.

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