The Swiss SMI was set 0.12% higher at the open on Thursday, extending the prior session’s gain of 0.46%, after the U.S. Treasury said it would double purchases of long-dated government bonds to counter a recent selloff that had pushed the 30-year Treasury yield to its highest level since 2007.
The intervention, announced Wednesday, helped pare losses across global bond markets, with U.S., German and Japanese sovereign yields retreating from recent peaks. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.2%, while Shanghai’s composite added 0.2%. Some investors cautioned that expanded Treasury purchases could prompt further selling by institutional holders concerned about liquidity risks.
The dollar weakened against the yen and franc as Treasury yields fell. The greenback gained 0.2% to 158.43 yen and rose 0.3% to 0.7996 Swiss francs, while the euro held near 1.1675 versus the dollar and advanced 0.3% to 0.9335 francs.
Oil prices climbed after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed amid regional tensions tied to the Iran conflict. Brent crude rose 0.3% to $91.87 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was little changed at $85.84. Gold fell to $4,492.56 per troy ounce as real yields eased.
U.S. equities ended mixed after a volatile session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.22% to 53,463.05, the S&P 500 added 0.21% to 7,707.98, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.22% to 29,426.02.
Biotech shares led gains after Moderna surged 177% to close at $44 billion in market value after reporting positive results from a melanoma vaccine study conducted with Merck & Co. Merck’s shares jumped 12.6%, while BioNTech rose 22%. Gold miners Agnico Eagle and Barrick Mining advanced 11% and more than 7%, respectively, tracking the drop in gold prices earlier in the session.
Marvell Technology gained about 10% after announcing an expanded partnership with Alphabet that includes a $12.2 billion stock-purchase option for the search giant. Alphabet shares closed slightly higher, while Broadcom fell 4.6% as investors rotated out of chipmakers. Apple and Amazon each rose more than 2%.
Estee Lauder jumped 16.3% on better-than-expected earnings, and Target gained 4.3% after raising its outlook.
