Stocks Gain as Buyers Snap Up Bargains; Oil Wavers: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Bargain hunters are pushing stocks higher at the start of a week in which leaders of the biggest central banks and a busy data calendar will set the tone. Oil fluctuated after a weekend of tension in the Middle East.
S&P 500 futures gained 0.7%, with traders buying the dip after a rotation out of this year’s top-performing stocks sent the US benchmark to its second-worst week of the quarter. Nasdaq 100 contracts advanced 1.1%. Chinese stocks led a modest advance in Asia after the central bank set the rate on an overnight liquidity tool at a lower-than-expected level. The Stoxx 600 was little changed.
Brent crude rose 0.3% to above $72 a barrel after swinging between gains and losses. The moves followed flare-ups between the US and Iran that saw a supertanker hit near the Strait of Hormuz. The two sides have since agreed to halt the tit-for-tat attacks ahead of a resumption of peace talks.
Traders will shift their focus this week to the annual gathering of central bankers in Portugal, where Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will make his public debut outside the US. Aside from hints on interest rates, questions over financial stability, including those linked to the artificial-intelligence boom, will be among the themes under discussion.
Another prominent event will be the monthly jobs report on Thursday, the culmination of the usual flurry of labor data that opens each month.
“After the hawkish pause of the Fed earlier in the month, one would have expected market exuberance to stall, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Securities. “That means the market believes that US exceptionalism is there to stay. It also means that the rally will likely broaden toward other corners of the market.”
What Bloomberg Strategists Say:
“Investors still recognize that the fundamental backdrop supports owning equities, but they are expressing that view with a degree of caution. That caution is welcome if you’re concerned about excessive optimism or the risk of bubbles forming. Taken together, improving market breadth, lower yields and continued investor discipline suggest there is still likely upside.”
— Skylar Montgomery Koning, Macro Strategist. Click here for the analysis.
Corporate News:
British American Tobacco Plc is reducing its 47,000-strong global workforce by about one-fifth as part of its sweeping plan to bring down costs and simplify operations. South Korea unveiled an ambitious plan aimed at cementing its status as a technological powerhouse, with companies led by Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. initiating large-scale investments in memory chips, data centers and robotics. Verizon Communications Inc. and the UK’s BT Group Plc have agreed to create a joint venture for their international businesses that will have a combined yearly revenue of about $4 billion. Prosus NV said profit more than doubled last fiscal year, beating analysts’ estimates after being boosted by growth in the tech investment company’s e-commerce businesses and an increase in the value of the stake it owns in China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. An heir to Ray-Ban billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio proposed to sell the family’s stakes in Italian financial firms to end a four-year fight over one of Italy’s biggest fortunes. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 8:47 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures rose 0.7% Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1407 The Japanese yen was little changed at 161.81 per dollar The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 6.7946 per dollar The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3223 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $59,982.16 Ether rose 0.5% to $1,578.99 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.37% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.85% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.73% Commodities
Brent crude rose 0.3% to $72.20 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,063.04 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Neil Campling.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
