Risks are being downplayed in equity market, El-Erian says Yen rebounds after weakening to lowest level since February European stocks faltered after reaching the highest level in almost a year, as banks dragged indexes lower. Oil extended its advance and the dollar weakened against major peers. Spanish banks fell after a ruling in the European Union’s top court that may result in them handing back billions of euros to mortgage customers. Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA fell on concern it may fail in its efforts to raise 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) of funds and after it said its liquidity may turn negative in four months. Oil traded above $53.50 a barrel as data showed U.S. stockpiles declined last week. The yen strengthened and the dollar slid from the highest since 2003 versus the euro. Volumes are thinning and swings in global equities are muted, with a volatility gauge for European equities at the lowest since 2014. Equities have been rising to new highs on the prospects for increased government spending in the U.S. after Donald Trump won the Nov. 8 presidential election, while European stocks closed at the highest since Dec. 2015 on Tuesday. Mohamed El-Erian and his former colleagues at Pacific Investment Management Co. say now’s a good time to take advantage of the latest rallies in global financial markets and scale back from risk. Read More: Check out our Markets Live blog. “It makes total sense to take some money off the table,� El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz SE and a Bloomberg View columnist, said Tuesday. “We’ve priced in no policy mistakes. We’ve priced in no market accidents, and we’ve ignored all sorts of political issues,� he said on Bloomberg TV. In October, El-Erian said that he held about 30 percent of his own money in cash. Stocks The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent at 11 a.m. in London. A gauge of European banks was among the worst performers, falling 0.6 percent, while financial services companies dropped 0.8 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed The gauge rose 0.2 percent to 2,266.5 on Tuesday, a point below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an unprecedented 19,974.62 Currencies The yen gained 0.3 percent to 117.46, after falling 0.7 percent on Tuesday. The euro added 0.2 percent to $1.0408, after touching an almost 14-year low of $1.0352 yesterday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after climbing for two straight days. The measure’s gain for the quarter is 7.6 percent, heading for the biggest three-month advance since the third quarter of 2008. Bonds Yields on 10-year Treasury notes fell one basis point to 2.55 percent, after gaining two basis points Tuesday. Germany’s 10-year bund yields dropped two basis points to 0.24 percent. Commodities Oil climbed 0.4 percent to $53.52 in New York. Crude inventories dropped by 4.15 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday is also forecast to show supplies shrank. Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,134.10 an ounce, after closing near a 10-month low Tuesday. Copper extended Tuesday’s rebound to climb 0.6 percent after global stockpiles stopped expanding.

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