U.S. Stocks Edge Up While China Rally Powers Ahead -- Update
July 08 2020 - 4:32PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Wallace and Gunjan Banerji
U.S. stocks advanced Wednesday, while mainland Chinese shares
extended a winning streak for a seventh consecutive day.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.8% as of the 4 p.m. close of trading
in New York. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.4%. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average was up 0.7%.
U.S. stocks have traded in a narrow range for the past month,
after zipping higher for much of the second quarter. Investors have
been weighing stimulus efforts by central banks and governments
against signs that the rebound in U.S. economic growth has lost
speed. Meanwhile, there's been a jump in coronavirus cases in parts
of the country, and tensions have risen between China and the
West.
"I would characterize the stock market as relatively immune to
the [health] crisis," said Gregory Perdon, co-chief investment
officer at Arbuthnot Latham & Co., a U.K. private bank. It is
difficult for stock prices to go down when stimulus measures by the
Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have pinned down bond
yields, he added.
The S&P 500 snapped a five-session streak of wins Tuesday as
the U.S. reported 60,000 new coronavirus cases, a single-day
record, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
There are signs investors are also turning cautious in other
parts of the market. Gold prices have risen to the highest level
since September 2011 and are continuing to advance.
"There's definitely never been more unknown unknowns out there.
We'll have to see whether the economy can stay open and people can
get back to work," said Nancy Davis, portfolio manager of the
Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge
Exchange-Traded Fund.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose to 0.664%, from 0.648%
on Tuesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Chinese shares resumed their recent spurt, pushing the Shanghai
Composite Index up 1.7%. The index has advanced 8% this week as
individual investors bet that a recovering economy will boost
profits. The streak has revived memories of an earlier rally in
Chinese stocks in 2015, which ended in a crash.
International stock markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index
was down 0.8%. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.7%.
Write to Joe Wallace at Joe.Wallace@wsj.com and Gunjan Banerji
at Gunjan.Banerji@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 08, 2020 16:17 ET (20:17 GMT)
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