Wall Street takes a breather, bond yields fall

US stocks paused on Tuesday, near their closing highs the day before. Treasury yields fell slightly, and investors observed recent upbeat data, watching for the Federal Reserve’s economic outlook.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note decreased by 1.654% in afternoon trading. The yield on the 30 year Treasury bond sank by 2.316%. 

On Wall Street, stocks are looking to benefit more from the reopening of the economy. This suggests that market players are optimistic about economic recovery and corporate profits. Vaccine distribution, stimulus, and a robust infrastructure project being debated in Washington fuel this sentiment.

On Tuesday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics published a February survey. It showed a slight increase in job openings and hiring. 

Nonfarm payroll reports submitted more than 900,000 jobs added in March. 

According to Nick Bunker from Hiring Lab, the report was full of optimism. Job openings are 5% above their pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, significant hiring is also finally taking place in industries that were hardest hit by the coronavirus. 

Oliver Pursche, president of Bronson Meadows Capital Management, said that investors expect earnings, and the economic climate has improved much in the last three months. 

The Fed is expected to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. Market players will scrutinize them for changes to the US central bank’s economic outlook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 16.80 points, or 0.05%, at 33,508.68. The S&P 500 index increased by 7.18 points, or 0.17%, to 4,085.18 units. The Nasdaq Composite was up 61.80 points, or 0.47%, at 13,769.63 points.

Europe’s STOXX 600 hit record high on global recovery

European markets returned to activity after the holiday on Monday. They followed Wall Street in reaching new record highs on data indicating a rapid economic recovery from the global health crisis.

The STOXX 600 index improved by 0.74%. It has soared more than 60% from virus-induced lows hit last year. The MSCI global equities measure was up 0.31%.

Emerging market stocks were up 0.59%. MSCI’s broader index of Asia-Pacific equities excluding Japan closed 0.66% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.30%.

The dollar reversed early gains against a basket of six major currencies, extending April’s weak start for the greenback. The dollar index dropped by 0.65%, and the euro gained 0.22% at $1.1837.

The yen strengthened and increased by 0.39% to 109.77 per dollar, while the British pound lost 0.32% to 1.3852 dollars.