Dollar Poised for First Monthly Decline Since August Versus Euro

---

The dollar is on pace for the first monthly decline since August as investors bet the Federal Reserve will wait until at least April to raise interest rates again after last week’s liftoff from near zero.

Hedge funds reduced futures bets for a second week that the dollar will advance against the 19-nation currency, in the last positioning data available before the U.S. central bank raised its target for the first time in almost a decade on Dec. 16.

The dollar is up against almost all major currencies this year as investors prepared for Fed liftoff while other central banks added stimulus. Yet U.S. policy makers have emphasized that they’ll stick to a gradual pace of increases to assess the economy’s response to higher borrowing costs and as commodity prices tumble.

The U.S. currency fell 0.4 percent to $1.0915 per euro at 5 p.m. New York time, extending this month’s losses to 3.3 percent. The dollar’s depreciated 1.6 percent in December to 121.19 yen.

Source: Bloomberg

Brent Oil Slides to 11-Year Low as Producers Seen Worsening Glut

---

Brent crude slumped to the lowest since mid-2004 amid speculation suppliers from the Middle East to the U.S. will exacerbate a glut as they fight for market share.

Futures fell 1.4 percent in London after a 2.8 percent drop last week. Producers are focusing on reducing costs amid the price decline, Qatar Energy Minister Mohammed Al Sada said Sunday at a gathering of Arab oil-exporting nations in Cairo. Drillers in the U.S. put the most rigs back to work since July, adding 17.

Oil has collapsed below levels last seen during the 2008 global financial crisis on signs the market’s oversupply will worsen. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries effectively abandoned output limits at a Dec. 4 meeting, while the U.S. on Friday passed legislation that lifted a 40-year ban on crude exports.

Brent for February settlement dropped 53 cents to $36.35 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. It’s the lowest close since July 5, 2004. Prices are down 37 percent this year, set for a third annual loss.

West Texas Intermediate for January delivery, which expired Monday, rose 1 cent to settle at $34.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It touched $33.98, the lowest level since Feb. 13, 2009. The more active February contract fell 25 cents to $35.81.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Rise From Lowest Since October Following 2-Day Rout

---

U.S. stocks surged in the final minutes of trading, rebounding after the biggest two-day rout in three months as financial and technology companies paced a climb from equities’ lowest levels since October.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.8 percent to 2,021.21 at 4 p.m. in New York, during a session that saw the gauge erase an early 0.9 percent climb.

Investors have wavered between optimism on the U.S. economy and concern that a slowdown on China will spread. Worries about weakness in the world’s second-largest economy were stoked in August by a surprise currency devaluation, triggering the S&P 500’s first correction in four years. The gauge rebounded as much as 13 percent from a summer low through early November, before giving up 4.9 percent through last week.

The equity benchmark has fallen 2.9 percent in December, bucking the historical seasonal trend of gains, and is on track for its biggest annual drop since the 2008 financial crisis. That puts even more pressure on the so-called Santa Claus rally to save the year. Historically, the final two-weeks of December deliver a gain of 1.7 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate as Energy Shares Slip, Bank Rally Fades

---

U.S. stocks fluctuated after erasing a rebound from two-month lows, as weakness in crude oil weighed on energy shares and a rally among banks faded.

The KBW Bank Index wiped out a gain of as much as 1.3 percent, on the heels of the measure’s worst two-day drop since August. Energy companies slumped as Brent crude oil fell to an 11-year low. Walt Disney Co. slipped 1 percent, falling for a third day despite a record weekend at the box office for the company’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” film.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to 2,010.51 at 12:11 p.m. in New York, after erasing a 0.9 percent climb. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 20.81 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,149.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

European Stocks Reverse Gains, Falling With Spain IBEX 35

---

Declines in energy shares dragged lower European equities that have managed to stay afloat most of the day despite plunges in Spanish equities.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.3 percent at 4 p.m. in London, erasing an advance of as much as 0.8 percent. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dropped 2.7 percent, set for its biggest plunge in three months, after the nation’s prime minister lost his majority in an inconclusive weekend election.

The Stoxx 600 is sliding after posting its best week in a month, thanks to a jump in exporters and financial companies following the first Federal Reserve interest-rate increase in almost a decade. The gauge traded at 15.7 times estimated earnings on Friday, less than at its April peak and lower than the valuation for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

While the Stoxx 600 advanced 5.5 percent this year through Friday, it gave up most of its initial rally amid global-growth concerns. It closed 13 percent below the record reached in April.

Source: Bloomberg