Global Markets Decline as Clutch of U.S. Data Moves into Focus

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

Global stock markets were mostly lower early Thursday as were U.S. futures after two days of declines on Wall Street. Ahead, it's a busy day, with U.S. durable goods, weekly jobless claims, third-estimate GDP data for the second quarter and existing home sales landing later. The U.S. Treasury will auction $44 billion in seven-year notes, and several Federal Open Market Committee members are also due to speak throughout the day.

In Europe, the Swiss National Bank held rates steady at zero, as expected, ending a period of six straight cuts.

• U.S. futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were all down a touch, around 0.1%, early in European hours. The S&P and Nasdaq composite both closed down 0.3% on Wednesday, while the Dow slipped 0.4% led by falls in Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
• The pan-Europe Stoxx 600 was down 0.5% shortly after the open, reflecting similar declines across national bourses. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.4%. London-listed defense contractor Babcock fell 1.5% despite a positive update, with most other European defense stocks also down following Wednesday's surge in the wake of President Trump's Ukraine comments. On the upside, H&M Hennes & Mauritz rose 8.7% after its quarterly earnings handily beat expectations.
• Shares in London-listed miners rose in early trading after copper prices surged overnight on Freeport McMoRan's declaration of force majeure at a crucial mine. Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange climbed to their highest levels in over a year and were up 1.0% early Thursday. Rio Tinto and Glencore shares rose 2.1% and 0.9%, respectively, while Anglo American shares were up 1%.
• Stocks in Asia were mixed as Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3%, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.3%. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite held steady.
• The U.S. dollar edged slightly lower after hitting a two-week high earlier in the week. It has traded in a relatively tight range recently despite weaker data and potential challenges to the Fed's independence. The DXY dollar index against a basket of major currencies was last down 0.1% to 97.798, having hit 97.921 on Wednesday.
• Long-dated U.S. Treasury yields edged lower ahead of the heavy data schedule and list of Fed speakers; the 10-year yield fell 0.6 basis point to 4.140% and the 30-year yield fell 1.4 basis points to 4.743%, according to Tradeweb.
• Gold prices ticked up again, supported by the weaker U.S. dollar. Futures were last up 0.1% to $3,773.70 a troy ounce. Still, it remains near record highs with strong central bank demand and inflows into gold-backed ETFs. Oil prices eased after climbing in the previous session, with Brent crude down 0.6% to $68.05 a barrel and WTI falling 0.7% to $64.54 a barrel.

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