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U.S. Equity Futures Fluctuate, Dollar Trims Gains: Markets WrapBy Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Markets were mildly risk-off on Monday as investors weighed strong economic data from China, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s stimulus plans and surging coronavirus trends.

Carrefour SA tumbled 6.9% after Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. abandoned talks on a $20 billion merger. The dollar gave up earlier gains, while S&P 500 futures were little changed. U.S. financial markets were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday.

In Asia, chip stocks and Huawei Technologies Co. suppliers dropped after Reuters reported that the U.S. is planning to revoke their licenses to work with the Chinese company. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics Co. fell 3.4%.

“Markets needed a breather or even a pull back to justify reflationary expectations,” said Ben Emons, managing director of global macro strategy at Medley Global Advisors.

After a strong start to the year, global stock markets are losing steam as investor focus shifts to the upcoming earnings season and the difficult negotiations facing Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan. His proposals could be watered down under congressional opposition, and there’s the possibility that some taxes could rise.

One bright spot in the global economy remains China. The country’s economy roared back to pre-pandemic growth rates, with gross domestic product climbing 6.5% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. That leaves the world’s second-largest economy driving global growth and potentially passing U.S. GDP sooner than previously expected.

On the coronavirus front, cases topped 95 million, while the U.S. death toll from Covid-19 neared 400,000. Norway expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after deaths in 29 people who received inoculations.

These are some key events coming up in the week ahead:

  • U.S. equity and bond markets are shut Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
  • Earnings come from companies including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Procter & Gamble, Intel, and Netflix.
  • Joe Biden takes office as U.S. president on Wednesday.
  • Policy decisions are due Wednesday from central banks in Brazil, Malaysia and Canada. The Bank of Japan and the ECB deliver decisions Thursday.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.2% as of 2:34 p.m. New York time.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2%
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.3%.

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little-changed.
  • The euro was steady at $1.2078.
  • The British pound decreased 0.1% to $1.3586.
  • The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 103.68 per dollar.

Bonds

  • Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.53%.
  • Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.285%.

Commodities

  • West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to $52.74 a barrel.
  • Gold strengthened 0.5% to $1,837.64 an ounce.

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