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Oil falls over 3% on concerns over demand and OPEC supply boost
NEW YORK - Oil prices fell more than 3% on Monday after weak economic data from China and the United States, the world s top oil consumers, and higher crude output from OPEC producers stoked fears of weakness in oil demand and oversupply.
Brent crude oil futures settled down $2.52, or 3.3%, at $72.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended $2.69, or 3.6%, lower at $71.26. Energy futures.are still expressing concerns over slowed production consumption as coronavirus cases are back on the rise in several regions of the U.S. as well as several countries overseas, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates LLC in Galena, Illinois.
Mild Upside Predicted For China Stock Market
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had plunged more than 210 points or 6.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,465-point plateau and it s looking at a steady start on Tuesday.
The global forecast is mixed to lower, with crude oil prices and covid concerns expected to weigh on sentiment. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
FILE - In this March 23, 2021 file photo, pedestrians walk past the New York Stock Exchange in New York s Financial District. Stocks are starting August on a strong note after the S&P 500 closed out its sixth straight month of gains. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) Previous Next
Monday, August 02, 2021 5:10 pm
Stocks end mixed after starting August off on a choppy note
DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA | Associated Press
Stocks gave back some of their recent gains Monday after a day of choppy trading on Wall Street led the major indexes to a mixed finish.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% in the final hour of trading after holding a slight gain for much of the afternoon. The benchmark index is coming off a weekly loss, though it ended July higher, its sixth straight month of gains. It remains within 0.8% of the all-time high it set a week ago.
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Municipals opened the week steady with a firmer tone Monday, while U.S. Treasury yields fell again and equities moved up and down throughout the day, as the COVID Delta variant s spread and its effects hang over all markets.
Municipal-to-UST ratios rose as a result. ICE Data Services showed the 10-year muni/UST ratio at 71% and the 30-year at 74%. Refinitiv MMD had ratios at 70% in 10 years and 75% in 30.
While municipals have cheapened some relative to their taxable counterparts and triple-A benchmark yields were little changed, underperforming the taxable movements, a firmer tone was exhibited in secondary trading.
Even with the ultra low yields across the municipal credit spectrum, the asset class performed well in July and returns for the year are all in the green.