By Vildana Hajric
Investors showed little reaction after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and signaled it was still on course to hike in December, with stocks easing off a one-month high and the dollar rising.
Tech shares underperformed after Jack Dorseys Square Inc. gave a disappointing earnings forecast and Roku Inc. reported slower growth, while gains in retailers and banks limited losses on the S&P 500 Index. European stocks pared an earlier advance spurred by strong earnings from companies including AstraZeneca Plc, though they ended in the green after an upbeat day in Asia. Oil fell for a ninth straight session. Treasury yields dipped.
Investors had largely anticipated that the Fed wouldnt change interest rates at todays announcement, so instead were focused on looking for any signals on the pace of policy tightening into 2019. The central bank said “economic activity has been rising at a strong rate” and job gains “have been strong,” acknowledging a drop in the unemployment rate, while repeating its outlook for “further gradual” rate increases in its statement.
Elsewhere, Italian bond yields jumped after the European Union warned the nations budget deficit will move dangerously close to the blocs limit of 3 percent. U.S. filings for unemployment benefits held near an almost five-decade low, indicating a robust job market. China reported a surge in exports and imports for October, months before the next round of tariff hikes in the trade war with the U.S. is set to kick in. Terminal users can read more in our Markets Live blog.These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent as of 2:15 p.m. in New York; the Nasdaq 100 sank 0.4 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.2 percent after gaining as much as 0.8 percent. The Nikkei-225 Stock Average rose 1.8 percent to a two-week high The MSCI Emerging Market Index slipped 0.5 percent.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.4 percent. The euro fell 0.4 percent to $1.1384. The British pound declined 0.3 percent to $1.3088. The Japanese yen fell 0.3 percent to 113.9 per dollar, the weakest in almost five weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 3.22 percent. Germanys 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.45 percent. The yield on Italys 10-year bonds jumped six basis points to 3.39 percent.
Commodities
Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,224.31 an ounce, its fifth consecutive decline. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2 percent to $60.93 a barrel, the ninth consecutive decline.
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