<span id="midArticle_start"/>(Repeats with no changes)
<span id="midArticle_0"/>By <a href="http://ift.tt/1zpDp4I;Ryan Vlastelica
<span id="midArticle_1"/> May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. stock market hasstruggled for direction of late, but next week's payroll reportcould confirm whether the recent weakness in data and stockprices is waning as the weather warms, or the start of alonger-term trend.
<span id="midArticle_2"/>Over the past two weeks, the Standard & Poor's 500 index has moved an average of 17.79 points daily, wider thanthe 12.43 point range in early March. The swings have amplifiedon mixed economic signals.
<span id="midArticle_3"/>While first-quarter earnings have topped expectations,revenue has fallen, with the biggest drops in the energy sector.U.S. data, including on economic growth, have been weak, but areseen as making the Federal Reserve less likely to raise interestrates soon, a view that has lifted market sentiment.
<span id="midArticle_4"/>"There are a lot of offsetting trends in the market, whichis causing a lot of choppy volatility," said Michael Mullaney,chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Co in Boston.
<span id="midArticle_5"/>"I don't see anything on the horizon that will get people tobuy stocks in droves, including the payroll report."
<span id="midArticle_6"/>The S&P 500 is about 1 percent away from the record closehit last Friday, when the Nasdaq composite index alsohit a record - its first since 2000. At these lofty levels,markets are vulnerable to a sell-off.
<span id="midArticle_7"/>In a rare week in which both stocks and bonds weakened,traders may reconsider whether global yields will fall muchfurther, given that the two-year German yield has been runningbelow zero since last August. As yields rose in Europe thisweek, U.S. benchmark rates followed suit.
<span id="midArticle_8"/>Investors have been willing to leave the safe haven of bondsfor bigger returns in stocks. But this week's bond marketselloff has boosted yields, part of the reason some of theweek's biggest losers include utilities and consumer staplescompanies that pay higher dividends.
<span id="midArticle_9"/>Some movement in Greece debt talks and less worrisomeregional inflation data this week caused traders to reduce betsthe European Central Bank might need to inject more stimulus.This led to the dumping of German Bunds, U.S. Treasuries andBritish Gilts.
<span id="midArticle_10"/>"It appears there's finally a revaluation going on," saidJack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank inChicago. "Equities are expensive relative to their history; theonly market that makes them appear cheap is bonds."
<span id="midArticle_11"/>Relative to junk bonds, the earnings yield on the S&P 500 -the inverse of the P/E ratio, which is used for valuationcomparisons with bonds - is around 5.8 percent, data showed.
<span id="midArticle_12"/>That is below the yield to maturity on junk bonds, of around6.45 percent, indicating that stocks have a worse value than theriskiest corporate bonds.
<span id="midArticle_13"/>About 213,000 jobs are seen having been added in April,after an add of 126,000 in March. That was the weakest readingsince December 2013, hurt by both weak crude oil prices and astrong U.S. dollar. (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Additional reporting by RichardLeong; Editing by Richard Chang)
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<span id="midArticle_0"/>By <a href="http://ift.tt/1zpDp4I;Ryan Vlastelica
<span id="midArticle_1"/> May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. stock market hasstruggled for direction of late, but next week's payroll reportcould confirm whether the recent weakness in data and stockprices is waning as the weather warms, or the start of alonger-term trend.
<span id="midArticle_2"/>Over the past two weeks, the Standard & Poor's 500 index has moved an average of 17.79 points daily, wider thanthe 12.43 point range in early March. The swings have amplifiedon mixed economic signals.
<span id="midArticle_3"/>While first-quarter earnings have topped expectations,revenue has fallen, with the biggest drops in the energy sector.U.S. data, including on economic growth, have been weak, but areseen as making the Federal Reserve less likely to raise interestrates soon, a view that has lifted market sentiment.
<span id="midArticle_4"/>"There are a lot of offsetting trends in the market, whichis causing a lot of choppy volatility," said Michael Mullaney,chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Co in Boston.
<span id="midArticle_5"/>"I don't see anything on the horizon that will get people tobuy stocks in droves, including the payroll report."
<span id="midArticle_6"/>The S&P 500 is about 1 percent away from the record closehit last Friday, when the Nasdaq composite index alsohit a record - its first since 2000. At these lofty levels,markets are vulnerable to a sell-off.
<span id="midArticle_7"/>In a rare week in which both stocks and bonds weakened,traders may reconsider whether global yields will fall muchfurther, given that the two-year German yield has been runningbelow zero since last August. As yields rose in Europe thisweek, U.S. benchmark rates followed suit.
<span id="midArticle_8"/>Investors have been willing to leave the safe haven of bondsfor bigger returns in stocks. But this week's bond marketselloff has boosted yields, part of the reason some of theweek's biggest losers include utilities and consumer staplescompanies that pay higher dividends.
<span id="midArticle_9"/>Some movement in Greece debt talks and less worrisomeregional inflation data this week caused traders to reduce betsthe European Central Bank might need to inject more stimulus.This led to the dumping of German Bunds, U.S. Treasuries andBritish Gilts.
<span id="midArticle_10"/>"It appears there's finally a revaluation going on," saidJack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank inChicago. "Equities are expensive relative to their history; theonly market that makes them appear cheap is bonds."
<span id="midArticle_11"/>Relative to junk bonds, the earnings yield on the S&P 500 -the inverse of the P/E ratio, which is used for valuationcomparisons with bonds - is around 5.8 percent, data showed.
<span id="midArticle_12"/>That is below the yield to maturity on junk bonds, of around6.45 percent, indicating that stocks have a worse value than theriskiest corporate bonds.
<span id="midArticle_13"/>About 213,000 jobs are seen having been added in April,after an add of 126,000 in March. That was the weakest readingsince December 2013, hurt by both weak crude oil prices and astrong U.S. dollar. (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Additional reporting by RichardLeong; Editing by Richard Chang)
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