U.S. Stocks Slip in Copper Rout, Fed Boosts Dollar: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks edged lower, while the dollar rose with Treasury yields after the Federal Reserve signaled it's looking past a recent deceleration in economic growth. Copper fell the most since 2015.

The Nasdaq 100 Index retreated with small caps, while the S&P 500 Index pared its loss in the final 30 minutes of trading as a rout in copper weighed on materials producers. The Fed's latest decision to leave interest rates at current levels while indicating it's not concerned about the economy lifted the greenback versus major peers. Treasury 10-year yields rose above 2.30 percent, weighing on real-estate stocks. Crude was flat after erasing losses on data showing U.S. stockpiles declined less than forecast.

The Fed said near-term risks to the economy appear “roughly balanced,” with inflation closing in on its 2 percent goal and the jobless rate near a level officials see as consistent with their maximum-employment mandate.

Equities fell earlier after Apple Inc.'s disappointing results slowed a torrid advance in technology shares that have lifted major benchmarks to records and overshadowed economic data that's shown the U.S. economy got off to a tepid start to the year. Reports Wednesday showed private payrolls rose faster than forecast and service industries expanded more than projected.

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Here are key upcoming events and data releases due:

• As Brexit talks begin, the European Union is expected to publish legislative proposals on Thursday that would force London's euro clearing operations to either accept EU oversight or relocate to the continent.
• Voters in France go to the polls on Sunday for the second round of presidential elections.
• Companies scheduled to release earnings this week include: Facebook Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, Time Warner Inc., and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent to 2,388.08 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring a loss that reached 0.5 percent. Financial shares rose the most as bond yields rose.
• The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 0.3 percent after closing Tuesday at a record. Apple dropped from its all-time high, though it recovered the worst of its losses during the session. Akami Technologies Inc. slid 15 percent after its results disappointed.
• The Euro Stoxx 600 fell less than 0.1 percent, with losses led by miners.

Currencies 

• The Bloomberg Dollar Index rose 0.4 percent and the greenback gained against most of its Group-of-10 peers.
• The yen weakened 0.6 percent to 112.676, extending the longest losing streak since November.
• The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.0894.

Bonds

• Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 2.32 percent.
• Puerto Rico is seeking to use federal bankruptcy-like proceedings to slash its $70 billion debt after more than a year of talks with bondholders and insurers, pushing the territory toward the biggest restructuring ever by a U.S. state or local government.
• Gains in Europe were led by Portuguese bonds with the benchmark note due in a decade falling 10 basis points to 3.45 percent. Bund yields were unchanged at 0.326 percent.

Commodities

• Oil closed near a six-week low after U.S. inventories decline less than analysts projected.
• West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose 16 cents to settle at $47.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures tumbled 2.4 percent to $47.66 on Tuesday, the lowest close since March 21. 
• Copper led a plunge in industrial metals amid rising inventories and concern miners in the Philippines will ramp up nickel production after a key legal victory. Futures slid 3.5 percent to settle at $5,600 a metric ton in London.
• Nickel fell 3 percent and gold futures lost 1.3 percent to $1,240.70 an ounce.

--With assistance from Mark Burton and Susanne Barton

To contact the reporter on this story: V. Ramakrishnan in London at rvenkatarama@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Cecile Gutscher