Stocks glide higher again as U.S. Treasury yields ease

Stan Choe, The Associated Press</span>
Published Monday, February 26, 2018 2:08AM EST
Last Updated Monday, February 26, 2018 11:13AM EST

NEW YORK -- Stocks climbed again on Monday as markets around the world continue to claw back from their sharp tumble last month.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index has regained nearly two thirds of its 10.2 per cent loss since setting its record a month ago. U.S. Treasury yields, which have been at the centre of worries for stock investors, eased.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 was up 17 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,764, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 223, or 0.9 per cent, to 25,533, and the Nasdaq composite gained 46, or 0.6 per cent, to 7,384.

RATE WATCH: A jump in interest rates was what triggered the sell-off for stock markets around the world last month. That's why an appearance this week by the Federal Reserve's chairman is so anticipated.

Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver his first testimony as chairman of the Fed to Congress, and he'll speak about monetary policy before the House of Representatives' financial services committee Tuesday morning. Investors will dissect it immediately for clues on how aggressive the Fed will be in raising interest rates to forestall inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.83 per cent from 2.87 per cent late Friday. The two-year yield, which is influenced more by expectations of movement by the Fed, fell to 2.22 per cent from 2.27 per cent. The 30-year yield, which is influenced more by expectations for inflation, sank to 3.13 per cent from 3.16 per cent.

STRONG EARNINGS: One driver for stocks in recent weeks is how impressive corporate profit reports have been.

Roughly 90 per cent of S&P 500 companies have said how much they earned during the last three months of 2017, and three quarters of them made more than analysts expected, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. More important to investors is that 75 per cent of companies made more in revenue than expected. Revenue growth is on pace to be the best since the summer of 2011, according to FactSet.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, France's CAC 40 rose 0.7 per cent, and the German DAX gained 0.4 per cent. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.8 per cent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2 per cent, and the South Korean Kospi added 0.3 per cent. China's Shanghai composite jumped 1.2 per cent.

COMMODITIES: Benchmark U.S. crude oil slipped 28 cents to $63.27 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost30 cents to $67.01.

Gold rose $3.30 to $1,333.60 per ounce, and natural gas rose 4 cents to $2.69 per 1,000 cubic feet.

CURRENCIES: The U.S. dollar inched up to 106.93 Japanese yen from 106.75 yen late Friday. The euro rose to $1.2304 from $1.2295, and the British pound dipped to $1.3962 from $1.3967.

Let's block ads! (Why?)