Global Markets Closing Wrap 18 September

In European Equity Markets stocks were muted at the market close on Tuesday. Major sectors, meanwhile, were pointing in different directions at the end of trade. Zalando shares fell 11.5 percent, after the retailer cut its 2018 guidance for the second time in two months. British online supermarket retailer Ocado saw its shares up 2 percent, after its sales growth rose 11.5 percent in the third quarter from the same period a year ago. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.03 percent, while the French CAC 40 rose 0.28 percent and the German DAX rose 0.51 percent.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar was little changed on Tuesday, close to a three-week low against the euro, as Washington and Beijing traded barbs and announced fresh tariffs on a growing number of imports. The euro was 0.11 percent higher against the dollar. The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart as oil prices rose and domestic manufacturing data supported the view that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates in October. The British pound pulled back from six-week highs.

In Commodities Markets oil futures rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday on signs that OPEC would not be prepared to raise output to address shrinking supplies from Iran, and as Saudi Arabia signaled an informal target near current levels. Brent crude futures rose 1.4 percent, to $79.13 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.03 to $69.94 a barrel, a 1.5 percent gain. Market participants awaited industry data on Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute that was expected to show U.S. crude inventories last week fell for a fifth straight week.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Tuesday led by the technology and consumer sectors, as investors judged the latest exchange of blows in a trade war with China less damaging than first feared. The tech sector rose 0.76 percent, lifted by Apple, which climbed 1.1 percent. Apple’s iPhone was also left out of the list of products hit by the latest round of tariffs. the S&P 500 0.32 percent, at 2,898.08 and the Nasdaq Composite rose  0.63 percent, at 7,945.32. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher.

In Bond Markets Italy’s government bond yields fell sharply on Tuesday on growing optimism that the new coalition’s budget will respect European Union rules on fiscal discipline. Two and five-year yields fell as much as 15 basis points to their lowest levels since July, while yields on short-dated top-rated German debt rose to four-month highs. Ten-year yields fell 11 bps to 2.76 percent, squeezing the gap over German Bund yields to around 227 bps — the tightest in a week. Yields across other core bond markets also rose, while U.S. 10-year yields climbed back above 3 percent.