Asian stocks rose Friday, tracking U.S. peers as vaccine distribution boosted economic optimism despite an increase in Covid-19 cases. Oil climbed amid a prolonged effort to unblock the Suez Canal.
A regional share gauge added more than 1%, led by Chinese and Japanese stocks. U.S. and European equity futures pointed higher after the S&P 500 advanced and small-caps rallied, buoyed by President Joe Biden’s doubling of a vaccination target. U.S. banks extended gains in after-hours trading as the Federal Reserve signaled an end to pandemic-era dividend curbs.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly after another lackluster auction of seven-year notes. The reaction was muted compared with the upheaval in bonds and interest-rate sensitive stocks following poor demand at last month’s sale. The dollar dipped but remained on course for its best week in three.
Crude prices veered back up toward $60 a barrel. Efforts to dislodge the massive Ever Given container vessel blocking the Suez Canal will take until at least next Wednesday, raising the prospect of wider disruptions to trade.
Global equities remain just under record highs as investors consider progress in the fight against Covid-19 and the risks of inflation from heavy stimulus. The U.S. recovery looks on track with latest data showing a bigger-than-forecast drop in weekly jobless claims. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the U.S. central bank would wait until the economy has “ all but fully recovered” to pull back extraordinary monetary support.
“The fears over higher inflation and higher interest rates are largely premature,” Sarah Lien, client portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments, told Bloomberg TV. “The market’s got ahead of itself -- there’s still a negative output gap in the economy and we don’t think things are likely to overheat anytime soon.”
In his first news conference since taking office, Biden highlighted the rivalry with China and declined to comment on whether import tariffs would remain in place. He said he’s open to diplomacy with North Korea but warned recent missile tests violated international rules and could prompt a response.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin slumped to trade below $53,000. A collapse in the Bitcoin futures contract rollover suggests the token may face more near-term downward pressure. On the virus front, Mexico became the third country with more than 200,000 confirmed deaths due to Covid-19.
Yves Bonzon, group chief investment officer at Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd., discusses equities and his outlook for the European economy.
(Source: Bloomberg)
These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% as of 6:50 a.m. in London, after the index rose 0.5%.
- Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.7% after the index dipped 0.1%.
- Japan’s Topix Index climbed 1.5%.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5%.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 1.6%
- China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.6%.
- South Korea’s Kospi Index increased 1.1%.
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.9%.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.2%.
- The euro was up 0.1% at $1.1781.
- The British pound was 0.2% higher at $1.3754.
- The Japanese yen traded at 109.27 per dollar.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was steady at 1.63%.
- Australia’s 10-year yield was down two basis points at 1.66%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.8% to $59.60 a barrel.
- Gold was 0.1% higher at about $1,729 an ounce.
— With assistance by Claire Ballentine, Robert Fullem, Mark Cranfield, and Haslinda Amin
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March 26, 2021 at 04:55AM
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