CAPE TOWN: US stocks stumbled after a six-day rally took them to all-time highs, while the dollar fluctuated with oil as investors assessed fresh data showing the US economy on firm footing. The S&P 500 fluctuated between gains and losses after its longest rally since February, with trading 27% below the 30-day average at this time of day. The dollar erased declines as a second reading on gross domestic product (GDP) topped estimates. Crude headed for a weekly loss after Opec’s move to prolong supply cuts for nine months disappointed investors hoping for more. The pound fell as a poll showed UK Prime Minister Theresa May losing ground to her main opponent ahead of next month’s election.
A second straight month of stagnant orders for business equipment in April indicated investment in capital goods could slow in the second quarter, paring weekly gains in US stocks. Crude languished below $50 a barrel, while UK investors awakened to election risk after a poll showed the Conservative party lead narrowed after the Manchester attack. “Markets ultimately found the renewed deal among Opec and friends underwhelming,” Cole Akeson, a strategist at Sberbank CIB in Moscow, said. “Essentially, the market consensus seems to have come around to a view that regardless of what effect on global inventories the deal may have for now, Opec and its partners have little insight as to what to do later on.”
