Stock Losses Deepen as Earnings Offset GDP Surge

By Bloomberg / July 28, 2018 / in.investing.com / Article Link

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks extended losses, while the dollar dipped and Treasuries gained, as news of a surge in U.S. economic growth contended with disappointing quarterly results from Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Twitter.

The S&P 500 Index declined Friday, after the government said U.S. GDP grew by 4.1 percent at an annualized rate in the three months through June -- the biggest gain since 2014 and close to the median forecast of 4.2 percent in a Bloomberg survey. Speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump called the result “amazing” and said the growth is “very sustainable.”

Still, traders remained focused on earnings after Amazon’s strong results Thursday countered Facebook’s disappointing quarter, which led to a historic plunge for the social media Goliath. Most U.S. equity gauges were down Friday. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) led decliners in the S&P 500.

“It’s a continued reaction to earnings,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. “The big thing with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is not what happened to the stock itself but what that means for the market. For the second time in a row, we saw two of the big tech stocks falter and investors are thinking, maybe the future isn’t quite as bright as we could’ve assumed.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index headed for its best week in almost two months as banks and telecommunications firms gained. West Texas intermediate crude dropped, while gold climbed.

The GDP data underscored the Federal Reserve’s policy path at a time when investors’ focus is returning to central banks. In Japan, reports suggested BOJ officials are debating ways to reduce the side-effects of their yield-curve control policy. The European Central Bank said Thursday that it will stick to its plan to end bond purchases and pledged to keep interest rates unchanged “at least through the summer of 2019.”

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These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index fell 0.7 percent as of 12:37 p.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.4 percent to the highest in almost six weeks.The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped 0.5 percent.The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.3 percent to the highest in more than five weeks.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2 percent.The euro advanced 0.1 percent to $1.1653.The British pound was unchanged at $1.3109.The Japanese yen advanced 0.3 percent to 110.93 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 2.96 percent.Germany’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to 0.40 percent.Britain’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to 1.28 percent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6 percent to $69.21 a barrel.LME copper declined 0.1 percent to $6,282.50 a metric ton.Gold advanced 0.3 percent to $1,225.95 an ounce.

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