Bloomberg Business
-S&P 500 bull market turns seven: The bull market in the S&P 500 celebrates its seventh anniversary today, making it the third longest bull market in the history of the index, and possibly also the least loved. With the index gaining just 0.5 percent over the past 18 months, this may be the first bull market to die of boredom, rather than the usual excessive optimism. Jeffrey Gundlach, who runs the $56 billion DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund with Philip Barach, is more bearish, saying the index has just 2 percent upside from here, with about 20 percent downside. S&P 500 futures were 0.3 percent higher at 10:45 a.m. London time.
-European stocks rally: Stocks in Europe are recovering after two days of declines ahead of tomorrow’s ECB meeting at which President Mario Draghi is expected to announce further stimulus measures. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1.0 percent by 11:26 a.m. in London, with Prudential Plc leading insurers higher after reporting a 19 percent increase in profits. Stocks overnight in Asia were lower, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index losing 0.3 percent as material and energy stocks came under pressure.
-Sanders surprise, Trump consolidates: Hillary Clinton went into yesterday’s Michigan vote with a 20-point lead over Bernie Sanders in the polls, so his victory in that state comes as both a major surprise and a warning to the leading candidate for the Democratic party nomination. On the Republican side, Donald Trump tightened his hold on the primary race, winning in Mississippi, Michigan, and Hawaii. Marco Rubio had a disappointing night, beaten into fourth place behind Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
-Volatile markets: The yield on 30-year Japanese government debt, which plunged 22 basis points in trading on Tuesday, gave back all those gains in an overnight trading session that briefly saw 10-year bond futures halted after falling prices triggered a so-called dynamic circuit breaker. In commodities, iron ore has dropped back after the ‘surprising blip’ in prices on Monday – which may or may not have been due to a flower show in China — with 62 percent ore delivered to Qingdao falling 8.8 percent to $58.02 a metric ton. Crude oil was higher, trading at $37.13 a barrel at 11.11 a.m. London time. Gold was lower.
-Bank of Canada: The Bank of Canada delivers its rate decision at 10 a.m. ET today, with all economists surveyed by Bloomberg expecting the bank to keep rates unchanged, as mixed signals offer no conclusive evidence on the direction the economy will take.
CNN Money
-Global markets overview: U.S. stock futures are holding steady around Tuesday’s closing levels, and most European markets are rising in early trading. Asian markets ended with mixed results. The main indexes in China took the biggest falls in the region, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite dropping by 1.3%. Yields on 10-year government bonds are edging higher.
-Watching commodities: Prices for gold and other precious metals are dipping, alongside a slide in industrial metals such as copper. Crude oil futures are holding on to recent gains, trading around $37 per barrel. But prices could swing after the U.S. government releases its weekly crude inventory data at 10:30 a.m.
– Stock market movers — Chipotle, Volkswagen: Shares in Chipotle (CMG) are falling after the burrito chain had to close a store in Massachusetts due to concerns that several employees may have contracted the norovirus. Chipotle was recently subpoenaed by a federal grand jury over a norovirus outbreak in California. That followed a lengthy E. coli outbreak that was connected to eating at Chipotle restaurants in multiple states. The health scares have hurt the Chipotle brand. Last month the company closed all its stores in the U.S. for half a day to brief staff about food safety. Shares in Volkswagen (VLKAY) are dipping in Germany after the U.S. Department of Justice was reported to be planning to use a bank fraud law to pursue a case against the automaker over its emissions scandal. The Department of Justice and Volkswagen declined to comment on the issue.
– Tuesday market recap: It was a tough day on Tuesday following a five-day rally. All the main U.S. indexes fell. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.6%, the S&P 500 declined 1.1% and the Nasdaq was hardest hit, falling 1.3%. But let’s keep this in perspective: Over the past seven years, the Dow has surged by 159%, the S&P 500 is up 193% and the Nasdaq has made a stunning 266% gain.