© Reuters.
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian stock markets reduced their initial losses on Monday as data confirmed that China’s economy rebounded in the last quarter with increased factory production, helping to offset recent disappointing news about consumer spending in the U.S.
Chinese blue chips rose 0.4% after the economy grew 6.5% in the fourth quarter, compared to the previous year, exceeding forecasts of 6.1%.
December’s industrial production also exceeded estimates, although retail sales missed the mark.
The broader MSCI index for Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan reduced losses and fell 0.2%, having reached a series of record highs in recent weeks. fell 0.8% and went from an increase in 30 years.
E-Mini futures were down 0.3%, although Wall Street closed on Monday for a holiday. EUROSTOXX 50 futures declined 0.2% and futures 0.1%.
The recovery in China was a marked contrast to the United States and Europe, where the spread of the coronavirus hampered consumer spending, underlined by the depressing retail sales in the United States, reported on Friday.
Doubts are also evident about how much of the US President-elect Joe Biden’s stimulus package will reach Congress due to Republican opposition, and the risk of further mob violence in his possession on Wednesday.
“The data question the durability of the recent upward movement in bond yields and the increase in inflation compensation,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
“There is a lot of good news around vaccines and stock price stimuli, but optimism is being challenged by the reality of the difficult months ahead,” they warned. “The risk across Europe is that the blockages will be extended and the US cases could increase dramatically with the expansion of the UK’s COVID variant.”
This will put the focus on earnings guidance for this week’s corporate results, which include BofA, Morgan Stanley (NYSE :), Goldman Sachs (NYSE 🙂 and Netflix (NASDAQ :).
Weak US data helped Treasury bills reduce some of its recent losses and 10-year yields were trading at 1.087%, down from last week’s 1.177% top.
The more sober climate, in turn, boosted the safe-haven dollar, catching a deeply sold bear market. Speculators have increased their short dollar position to the highest since May 2011, in the week ending January 12.
The duly signed for 90,786, and far from its recent 2-1 / 2 year voucher at 89,206.
The euro retreated to $ 1.2074, from its January peak at $ 1.2349, while the dollar remained stable against the yen at 103.80 and well above the recent low at 102.57.
The Canadian dollar fell to $ 1.2773 per dollar after Reuters reported that Biden planned to revoke the license for the Keystone XL pipeline.
Biden’s choice for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is likely to rule out the search for a weaker dollar when testifying at Capital Hill on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Gold prices were hurt by the dollar’s rise, causing the metal to fall by $ 1,824 an ounce, compared to the January peak of $ 1,959.
Oil prices have generated profit due to concerns that the spread of increasingly rigid blockages around the world would hurt demand. [O/R]
futures fell 52 cents to $ 54.58 a barrel, while 46 cents dropped to $ 51.90.