U.S. stock indices remain in positive territory in the final hours of the Aug. 19 session (S&P500: +0,32%), after the U.S. Treasury said it intends to increase the volume of buybacks of long-term bonds. The statement indicated that the U.S. is seeking to reduce borrowing costs after Treasury yields reached their highest levels in several decades.
Yields on 30-year Treasuries retreated from their highest level since 2007. Shares of companies believed to benefit from lower rates also posted some gains. Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting were also released today, showing that many committee members see a rate hike as likely if inflation does not decline. At that meeting, the Fed left rates unchanged, but three regional bank presidents dissented.
Moderna shares more than doubled, which could be the strongest rally in the company’s history, after an experimental skin-cancer vaccine developed jointly with Merck showed success in late-stage trials. Marvell Technology shares rose after the company announced an agreement with Google related to its tensor processors, as well as Alphabet’s receipt of a warrant to buy up to $12,2 bln of Marvell common stock.
Meanwhile, bitcoin broke out of the trading range it had been in for several months, posting its biggest gain since March amid optimism about regulation ahead of a White House meeting that President Donald Trump plans to hold with executives from companies such as Coinbase Global Inc., Payward Inc. and Blockchain.com Group Holdings Inc.
Gold prices rose as U.S. government-bond yields fell
December gold futures closed at $4513,3 per ounce (+2,09%), while the nearest-maturity futures gained 2,8% to $4489,40 per ounce.