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Shares in Europe edged higher on Wednesday after a positive session in Asia as earnings season rumbled on, though trade tensions were high on the agenda ahead of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Junker. Oil helped commodities rise.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index nudged higher overall as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings from the likes of Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander. Asian equities advanced, though Shanghai stocks edged lower as positive sentiment spurred by Beijing’s willingness to support the economy showed signs of fading.
Most Group of 10 currencies were steady as traders await developments from the U.S.-EU meeting in Washington. The yen was little changed after the Bank of Japan refrained from scaling back its bond purchases at a regular operation Wednesday, following speculation officials may consider tweaking their stimulus policy. Treasuries edged higher alongside most European government bonds.
Markets are struggling to build on Tuesday’s upbeat session as trade relations between the world’s biggest economic powers return to the fore. The meeting between Trump and the man he once described as a “brutal killer” takes place after the U.S. president sent a Twitter message demanding both sides drop all tariffs, barriers and subsidies, before claiming the Europeans wouldn’t. The talks threaten to overshadow the steady stream of company earnings, with results due from the likes of General Motors and Facebook.
Elsewhere, Australia’s dollar fell against all its most peers after inflation data missed estimates, backing the case for the central bank to keep interest rates at a record low. Sterling held on to gains triggered by Prime Minister Theresa May taking control of Brexit talks, relegating her Brexit Department. Oil ticked up on stockpile decreases.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
Earnings season continues with the following tech companies among those reporting: Amazon.com, Twitter, Advanced Micro Devices, Qualcomm and Intel. Others include Nissan and Shell.
The European Central Bank’s policy decision is Thursday.
U.S. gross domestic product probably increased by about 4.2 percent at an annualized rate in the second quarter, the most since 2014, economists forecast ahead of Friday’s data.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Futures on the S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent as of 8:07 a.m. London time.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.1 percent to the highest in more than five weeks.
The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.1 percent to the highest in almost six weeks.
The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.4 percent to the highest in more than a month.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.1 percent to the lowest in two weeks.
The euro increased 0.1 percent to $1.1695.
The British pound gained 0.2 percent to $1.3167, the strongest in more than a week.
The Japanese yen rose less than 0.05 percent to 111.19 per dollar, reaching the strongest in two weeks on its sixth straight advance.
The Turkish lira jumped 0.4 percent to 4.8635 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 2.94 percent.
Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.39 percent.
Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 1.264 percent.
Commodities
The Bloomberg Commodity Index increased 0.3 percent to the highest in two weeks.
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.5 percent to $68.86 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
LME copper dipped 0.4 percent to $6,267.00 per metric ton.
Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,227.36 an ounce.
Source: Bloomberg
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