Markets

European stocks dip on earnings as US futures remain steady

Gold pushes further above $2,000 for third day

Photograph: iStock

Thu Aug 6 2020 - 12:06

European stocks slid on earnings, while US futures were steady before jobs data and word on the latest American stimulus package.

Mining giant Glencore led losses among European peers after scrapping its dividend. UK broadcaster ITV slumped after saying it wouldn't provide an outlook for the rest of the year after the pandemic led to its worst-ever drop in advertising sales. Adidas advanced as sales are bouncing back more rapidly than expected after global store closures.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer rose in the premarket after winning a court ruling that upheld patents on their blockbuster blood-thinner Eliquis. Goldman Sachs warned investors that a successful coronavirus vaccine might unsettle markets by sparking a sell-off in bonds and rotation out of technology into cyclical stocks.

Gold pushed further above $2,000 an ounce for a third day before news on whether the US will approve another trillion-dollar aid package to counter the coronavirus. A dollar index halted its slide near a two-year closing low. The pound rose against the euro after the Bank of England said it won’t tighten policy soon despite signals that the U.K. economy’s rebound is faster than foreseen.

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Turkey’s lira tumbled to its lowest level against the dollar as interventions by state banks failed to reassure markets.

Investors pushed a gauge of global stocks this week to within a whisker of recouping this year's declines, as pressure grows on Republicans and Democrats to resolve differences over a new US virus relief package. Meantime, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo urged American firms to bar Chinese applications from their app stores, the latest Trump administration attempt to counter China on multiple fronts.

"There are some risks of the market relying too heavily on positive news around the fiscal stimulus and an earnings season that still wasn't that great, even if many companies did beat," Kerry Craig, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Melbourne, said on Bloomberg TV. "There's a case for markets, in the US particularly, taking a pause from here on out rather than continuing this rally, given how strong it has been."

U.S. economic has been mixed. Data showed payroll gains slowing sharply in July, suggesting the pickup in coronavirus cases is putting the brakes on the job market, while service industries expanded at the fastest pace since February 2019. Initial and continuing jobless claims are due later on Thursday. – Bloomberg

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