"We've had this spectacular run-up, and I think we've seen momentum just run out of steam," said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index. "Despite earnings being encouraging, they haven't managed to push those indices higher. Moving out of growth and into cyclicals is the place we're going to have more movement."
Earlier Tuesday, a sharp drop in equity futures left traders scrambling for reasons to explain the move. Some investors speculated on military tensions between China and Taiwan, Singapore's tougher coronavirus restrictions and Ferrari NV's decision to postpone financial targets.
Traders also monitored the latest economic readings, with the U.S. trade deficit widening to a new record in March.
Meanwhile, a senior White House economic aide demurred on the question of whether President Joe Biden will nominate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a second four-year term, saying the decision on selecting the next central bank chief will come after a thorough "process."
Here are some key events to watch this week:
- U.S. ADP employment change is due Wednesday
- Chicago Fed President Charles Evans gives a virtual speech at an event hosted by Bard College on Wednesday. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester gives a virtual speech to the Boston Economic Club
- Bank of England rate decision Thursday
- The April U.S. employment report is released on Friday
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 2:53 p.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.2%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
- The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
- The euro fell 0.4% to $1.2016
- The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3896
- The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 109.28 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.59%
- Germany's 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.24%
- Britain's 10-year yield declined five basis points to 0.79%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.9% to $66 a barrel
- Gold futures fell 0.7% to $1,779 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Yakob Peterseil, Vildana Hajric, Kamaron Leach, Sophie Caronello and Nancy Moran
Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
