US stocks advance towards record while bonds extend decline
US equities climbed towards an all-time high on Wednesday while global bond markets extended a recent sell-off as investors shifted into riskier assets.
The S&P 500 reversed the previous session’s losses to gain 1 per cent as the index edged towards a record struck in February. In Europe, UK equities outshone their peers.
Ten-year US Treasury yields pulled back from their highest level in more than a month, recently up 0.013 percentage point to hit 0.67 per cent, reflecting a fall in prices. A week ago the yields were around 0.5 per cent. UK and eurozone sovereign debt yields followed suit.
US consumer price gains kept pace into a second month as demand signalled a rebound from a pandemic-related decline. That meant the index matched June’s advance when it rose for the first time since February, before the US shut down to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Analysts pointed to huge sales of new debt as a short-term catalyst for the sell-off. The US Treasury is set to auction a record $38bn of 10-year bonds on Wednesday.
In Europe, UK stocks swept past their continental peers