Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rebounded from their worst loss since October as investors found reason for optimism in strong labor data and a solid set of corporate earnings.Chipmakers led the S&P 500 Index higher after better-than-forecast weekly jobless claims and data that showed a fairly robust economic expansion in the fourth quarter. Volatility continued in pockets of the market where retail traders have taken on an outsize role, whipsawing stocks such as GameStop Corp., American Airlines Inc. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.Mastercard Inc. and Comcast Corp. beat earnings estimates, boosting confidence in corporate America to deliver results during the pandemic. Apple Inc. shares fell after a cautious outlook while Tesla Inc. dipped on lower-than-expected profit. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped. Earnings beats from STMicroelectronics NV and Diageo Plc were overshadowed by a miss from Swatch Group AG and a revenue drop at EasyJet Plc. Also weighing on sentiment is an ongoing dispute between AstraZeneca Plc and the European Union over vaccine supplies.Stocks are searching for direction after a prolonged rally that spurred talk of possible asset bubbles and predictions of a pullback given a raging pandemic and patchy rollout of vaccines. Adding to investor anxiety is a wave of retail traders organizing in internet chat forums and injecting volatility into stocks around the globe. But comments from Federal Reserve officials yesterday also affirmed that monetary policy will stay extraordinary supportive for the foreseeable future.“Jobless claims leveled off, which is a bit of relief,” said Larry Weiss, head of equity trading at Instinet LLC in New York. “We saw a bit of a broad based risk reduction yesterday as a result of the hedge fund squeeze.”The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose after touching the lowest level since Jan. 5. Stocks in Hong Kong and Australia saw the bulk of Asian losses.These are some key events coming up in the week ahead:U.S. personal income, spending and pending home sales come Friday.These are the main moves in markets:StocksThe S&P 500 Index rose 0.7% as of 9:31 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.2%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.9%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 1.5%.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%.The euro rose 0.1% to $1.2123.The British pound was little changed at $1.3685.The Japanese yen weakened 0.3% to 104.39 per dollar.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 1.04%.Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to -0.54%.Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.28%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 1% to $53.38 a barrel.Gold rose 0.8% to $1,858.05 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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