U.S. Stocks Pare Gains, Treasuries Rally After Fed: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks pared gains and Treasuries climbed after the Federal Reserve signaled it will remain on hold in a highly anticipated decision.

After an initial rally, the S&P 500 Index trimmed its advance as Chairman Jerome Powell noted that uncertainties about the outlook remain — including those around the coronavirus and trade. Treasury 10-year yields tumbled below 1.6%, while the dollar was little changed.

Investors also sifted through a flurry of earnings reports. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:).’s strong results sent the iPhone maker to a record while General Electric (NYSE:) Co.’s outlook topped Wall Street’s estimates. Boeing (NYSE:) Co. rallied on news the planemaker burned less cash than expected. EBay Inc., Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) Inc. and Xilinx Inc (NASDAQ:). gave lackluster guidance.

Fed Leaves Main Rate Unchanged, Saying Policy Is Appropriate

Markets have calmed somewhat from the coronavirus’ initial blow as the earnings season continued to roll in. Investors have shifted their attention to signals of how the viral outbreak may affect corporations. Heavyweights including Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:)., Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:). and Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc. report results after the close.

Some other corporate highlights:

• McDonald’s Corp.’s sales in its home market beat expectations.
• Mastercard Inc (NYSE:)., Inc. and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. reported better-than-estimated results.
• AT&T Inc. topped earnings estimates as cost cuts helped offset steep TV-subscriber losses and higher spending on its media business.

Elsewhere, oil fell after a government report showed the biggest jump in stockpiles since November. The European Parliament approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, clearing the way for the U.K. to leave the EU on Jan. 31 with an agreement that, for the time being, will avoid a chaotic rupture.

Here are some events to watch out for this week:

• Samsung Electronics (KS:), International Paper, Unilever (LON:) and Shell (LON:) report on Thursday, followed by South Korean chip maker SK Hynix, Chevron (NYSE:), Caterpillar (NYSE:) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:) all on Friday.
• The Bank of England meeting on Thursday is highly anticipated after a series of dovish comments raised speculation policy makers could lower interest rates.
• The U.S. reports fourth-quarter GDP Thursday.
• The U.K. is scheduled to leave the European Union Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 3:14 p.m. New York time.
• The Index climbed 0.4%.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.4%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
• The euro dipped 0.2% to $1.0999.
• The Japanese yen weakened 0.1% to 109.22 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped seven basis points to 1.59%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to -0.38%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield decreased four basis points to 0.516%.

Commodities

• The Bloomberg Commodity Index dipped 0.6%.
• West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.4% to $53.24 a barrel.
• Gold fell 0.1% to $1,574.80 an ounce.

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