Dolar fuerte y caida de commodities arrastra al mercado a la baja.
ARKETS TODAY'S MARKETS
Weaker Commodity Prices Drag Down Stocks
Resurgent dollar, commodity weakness cut into recent rally
By RIVA GOLD
Updated March 24, 2016 9:34 a.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
U.S. stocks fell Thursday ahead of the Easter holiday weekend, as a resurgent dollar and weaker commodities prices dented a recent rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84 points, or 0.5%, to 17418 in the opening minutes of trade. The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.7%.
The declines followed downbeat sessions in Europe and Asia. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 1.5% at midafternoon.
Falls in oil and metals priced weighed on mining and energy companies, sending shares in resources giant Anglo American PLC down 7.5%, while the world’s biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA lost 7%.
Wall Street has ended higher for five consecutive weeks, bolstered by a softer dollar, rising commodities prices and a more dovish stance on interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Commodities stocks struggled Thursday. Resources giant Anglo American PLC were down 7.5%. Shown is Anglo American’s platinum mine in Rustenberg, South Africa.
Commodities stocks struggled Thursday. Resources giant Anglo American PLC were down 7.5%. Shown is Anglo American’s platinum mine in Rustenberg, South Africa. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
But upbeat comments from Fed officials and U.S. regional sentiment surveys have boosted the dollar and weakened commodities prices in recent sessions, putting major indexes around the world on track to end the holiday-shortened trading week in negative territory.
The dollar continued to strengthen against the euro, yen and emerging markets currencies on Thursday after St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard suggested Wednesday that an interest rate rise in April was possible.
Advertisement
The euro was last down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.1166, while the dollar was up 0.3% against the yen at ¥112.7390.
“There is some recognition that nobody really benefits at this point from a dollar that continues to strengthen,” said Mark Haefele, global chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management, adding that Mr. Bullard’s comments were a warning that the Fed might not boost markets much further from here.
Commodities fell across the board on Thursday. Copper and iron ore prices were lower, while Brent crude oil fell 2.2% to $39.57 a barrel, bringing weekly losses to 4%. Even gold was down, falling by 0.3% in London as investors reacted to the rising dollar.
In the banking sector, Italian cooperative banks Banco Popolare SC and Banca Popolare di Milano Scarl agreed to merge in a deal set to create Italy’s third-largest bank by assets. Shares of Asia-focused Standard Chartered PLC fell over 7%.
Losses in Europe followed a weak session in Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.6% after a summary of opinions from Bank of Japan policy makers illustrated rising tension over negative rates. Australia’s commodity-heavy S&P ASX 200 fell 1%.
Stocks in Shanghai fell 1.6% amid concerns about increased short selling and after Chinese authorities guided the yuan weaker against the dollar in the biggest one-day depreciation since early January.
China’s Premier Li Keqiang said the country was working to address volatility in its economy and that Beijing wouldn’t deliberately weaken the yuan to boost exports.
On Wednesday, Wall Street ended lower in light trade, as declines in the oil price weighed on shares of energy companies.
On Thursday morning, U.S. investors were parsing economic data. Jobless claims rose to 265,000, slightly below analysts’ estimates of a rise of 268,000. Durable goods orders were down 2.8% in February, shy of the 3.0% decline seen by analysts. U.S. stock futures remained largely unchanged after the figures.
“It’s been a good rally and it feels like a very different world from a month ago when the market was frightened of recession, downturn and even deflation,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “For the rally to be sustained, you need a decent first-quarter earnings season.”
Write to Riva Gold at
riva.gold@wsj.com