Shares edge higher, dollar falls as markets weigh future Fed rate moves

1:16 pm Monday, November 18th, 2024

By Chibuike Oguh and Samuel Indyk

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global shares edged higher in choppy trading on Monday while the U.S. dollar fell but still traded near one-year highs as markets pared expectations of future interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

President-elect Donald Trump has begun making appointments to his incoming administration, filling health and defense roles last week, but key positions for financial markets, Treasury secretary and trade representative have yet to be filled.

The incoming Trump administration is expected to focus on lowering taxes and raising tariffs, which could stoke inflation and limit the Fed’s ability to cut rates.

“It should be a quieter week as the recent relentless wave of U.S. macro and political news flow in theory slows down with the main story on this front being on potential political appointments for the new Trump administration,” Deutsche Bank head of global economics and thematic research Jim Reid said.

The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were trading higher after paring losses, with consumer discretionary and consumer staples stocks driving gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was dragged down by materials stocks.

The Dow fell 0.19% to 43,363.92, the S&P 500 rose 0.22% to 5,883.52 and the Nasdaq rose 0.48% to 18,769.90.

European stocks were on track to finish lower, weighed down by real estate and utilities stocks. The STOXX 600 index was down 0.36%. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 1.39 points, or 0.17%, to 844.01.

Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Wednesday, with analysts expecting the artificial-intelligence chip leader to record a jump in revenue.

Shares of Nvidia have nearly tripled this year, with its hefty weighting in the S&P 500 partially helping to lift the index to record highs.

U.S. Treasury yields edged up toward multi-month highs, with the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes adding 3.3 basis points to 4.459%.

The greenback strengthened 0.36% against the Japanese yen to 154.9. The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of six others, was down 0.23% to 106.48, trading just below its one-year peak of 107.07.

Oil prices rose following reports that output at Norway’s Johan Sverdrup oilfield has halted, adding to earlier gains stemming from escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Brent crude futures were up 2.59% to $72.88 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at $68.73 a barrel, up 2.55%.

Gold prices soared after six days of losses. Spot gold rose 1.88% to $2,609.46 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 1.47% to $2,603.40 an ounce.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York and Samuel Indyk in London; Editing by Rod Nickel)