By Vildana Hajric
U.S. equities pared back gains while Treasuries extended losses as traders braced for the start of a potentially volatile year and three expected rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 was little changed while stocks in Europe rose amid light volume with markets including the U.K., Japan and China still closed for holidays. The yield on the U.S. 10-year note rose 10 basis points to 1.61%.
“Bottom line, the outlook is positive for stocks, but the removal of stimulus/accommodation from the global economy is a major theme to watch as we start 2022,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter. “It’ll be the first time since 2018 that the Fed is hiking rates, and that change will impact markets throughout the year.”
Among notable stock moves, Tesla Inc. climbed 10% as the carmaker navigated supply-chain disruptions to report blowout deliveries for the fourth quarter. Nvidia Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Apple Inc. posted modest gains. And in Hong Kong, property shares dropped while China Evergrande Group halted trading.
Here’s (Almost) Everything Wall Street Expects in 2022
“As we flip the calendar over, many of the current market concerns are well known and arguably well priced in at both the index and more prominently at the average stock level,” wrote Art Hogan, chief markets strategist at National Securities. “We suggest markets have done an overly efficient job in selling the rumor, and will likely start buying the news.”
Elsewhere, oil futures in New York traded near $76 a barrel following news Libya’s crude output is expected to fall to the lowest in more than a year. Gold fell, the dollar was stronger against peers and Bitcoin fell to $46,500.
What to watch this week:
- FOMC meeting minutes scheduled for release Wednesday
- Fed’s Bullard discusses the U.S. economy and monetary policy in an event on Thursday
- Fed’s Daly discusses monetary policy on a panel Friday
- ECB’s Schnabel speaks on a panel Saturday
For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 was little changed as of 11:18 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4%
- The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.6%
- The euro fell 0.6% to $1.1297
- The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.3446
- The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 115.31 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 10 basis points to 1.61%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to -0.13%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1% to $75.98 a barrel
- Gold futures fell 1.6% to $1,800.10 an ounce
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com.
