Stocks Inch Higher for 3rd Day, Bond Yields Retain Upward Bias

Barry Adams
08 Nov, 2022
New York City

Benchmark indexes were stable ahead of midterm elections later in the day and bond yields inched lower. 

The S&P 500 index inched up 0.2% to 3,816.14 and the Nasdaq Composite index increased 0.06% to 10,571.28. 

Kohl's Corporation jumped 8.5% after the struggling retailer said third quarter sales declined 2% on 6.9% fall in comparable store sales. 

The retailer said CEO Michelle Gass is leaving the company from Dec 2 and the board member Tom Kingsbury will serve as interim CEO.  

Lyft Inc plunged 20% after the ride-sharing company reported weaker-than-expected revenue. 

Third quarter revenue increased 22% to $1.05 billion but net loss widened to $422.2 million from $99.7 million a year ago and active rider growth fell to 7.2% to 20.3 million. 

Crude oil edged down 75 cents to $91.02 a barrel and natural gas declined 64 cents to $6.32 a thermal unit.

U.S. Treasury bonds edged lower ahead of the inflation data scheduled to be released on Thursday. 

Investors are anticipating the consumer price inflation index to rise at least 0.7% on a monthly basis in October and jump 8.1% from a year ago. 

The inflation is rapidly spreading in the services sector of the economy and prices are still rising at a rapid pace. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.68%, 10-year Treasury notes edged down to 4.16% and 30-year Treasury bonds fell to 4.28%. 

Stocks lacked direction in European trading after energy prices inched lower and currencies were under pressure. 

Eurozone retail sales rose 0.4% on a monthly basis in September, according to the latest data from Eurostat. 

The DAX index increased 0.6% to 13,612.68, the CAC-40 index traded higher 0.01% to 6,417.46 and the FTSE 100 index edged down 0.04% to 7,297.68. 

Luxury stocks LVMH and Hermes International declined on the China demand worries as regulators lock down several regions in large cities. 

Danish costume jewelry retailer Pandora surged more than 8% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly sales. 

Carrefour declined 1.2% and the company said it will accelerate its e-commerce expansion and add more discount stores and trim costs reflecting its new strategic plan. 

Schaeffler AG soared 9.5% after the bearings maker said it plans to cut 1,300 jobs worldwide and trim its excess production capacity.  

The euro traded up to $1.001 but the British pound declined 0.3% to $1.147. 

The yield on 10-year German Bunds declined to 2.29%, French bonds edged down to 2.80%, British bonds dropped to 3.58% and Italian bonds fell to 4.39%. 

Brent crude oil declined 37 cents to $97.31 a barrel and TTF natural gas rose 5% to 116.32 euros a MWh. 

The Nikkei 225 index increased 1.2% to 27,872.11, the Hang Seng Index declined 0.2% to  16,557.31, the Shanghai Composite inched lower 0.4% to 3,064.49. 

Markets in India were closed for a holiday.