Opening Bell: Europe Jumps On BP Earnings Beat; Futures, Yields, USD Climb

 | Feb 05, 2019 05:30

  • European shares climb on strong BP earnings; U.S. futures point to upbeat session
  • Dollar, Treasury yields extend rally
  • Oil rebounds
  • h2 Key Events/h2

    Shares in Europe leaped forward and futures on the S&P 500, Dow and NASDAQ 100 bounced back this morning amid mixed corporate earnings and thin Asian volumes. Sovereign bonds and currencies drifted.

    The STOXX Europe 600 gained ground for the sixth straight day, led by a rally in energy stocks after BP (LON:BP) joined a string of oil companies beating earnings expectations. This offset pessimism stemming from other companies posting softer guidance, such as chip suppliers Infineon Technologies (DE:IFXGn) and Ams (SIX:AMS). Are investors refocusing on results and beginning to disregard pessimistic forward outlooks?

    During the earlier Asian session, regional shares were mixed, as most markets were closed for the Lunar new year. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.95 percent, staging the biggest advance in over two years as financials rallied after a probe into banking malpractices stepped short of prescribing forced break ups or tighter lending rules. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.19 percent, closing in the red for the first time in four sessions, dampened by mainstay stocks’ poor performance.

    h2 Global Financial Affairs/h2

    Yesterday, U.S. equities closed higher for the fourth straight day, helped by gains in the technology sector amid thin trading and ahead of another round of earnings reports.

    The S&P 500 climbed 0.68 percent, closing at the highest level since December 3. However, it’s important to note that the advance does not necessarily reflect the broader market, as it was based on volumes 20 percent lower than the 30-day average. Nine of the eleven sectors closed in positive territory, with Technology (+1.6 percent) leading the charge, followed closely by Industrials (+1.29 percent). Healthcare (-0.29 percent) was the day's laggard, followed by Materials (-0.17 percent). Technically, the SPX closed at the top of the session, after crossing above the 100 DMA but below the 200 DMA.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent, also closing at the session's high, after it crossed above both the 100 and 200 DMAs on Monday.