Middle East and Africa
Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian stocks hit a historic record on Wednesday, with investors betting on a strong economic recovery next year as there are few signs that policymakers are going back to massive stimulus efforts aimed at to prevent coronavirus-driven crises.
The Asia-Pacific stock index MSCI excluding Japan rose 1.2% to a record high, led by gains in Chinese stocks and bringing its gains so far this year to 18.9%.
Japan’s Nikkei stock average lost 0.45% on its last trading day of 2020, after jumping to a 30-year high on Tuesday. In the year, it grew 16.0%.
European equities are expected to decline slightly, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures falling 0.2% and FTSE futures losing 0.1%.
Convictions that global monetary authorities will continue to inject liquidity into the banking system to support the pandemic-stricken economy support risky assets.
“We believe that continued support for monetary and fiscal policy means that investors must take risks. Actions will do better than bonds. Within bonds, corporate bonds must outperform government bonds, ”said Hiroshi Yokotani, head of Asia Pacific fixed income businesses at State Street Global Advisors.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.41%, erasing the losses made the day before after US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell postponed voting on President Donald Trump’s request to increase checks relief of COVID-19.
While many Republican senators remain adamantly opposed, concerned about the cost to taxpayers, support is growing among them, including two from Georgia, who are disputing the crucial disputes that will determine who will control the Senate.
END OF ILLUSION?
Even an alarming spread of a COVID-19 variant in many countries has so far done little to curb investor appetites.
The United States has detected its first known case of the highly infectious coronavirus strain already detected in Britain and South Africa.
But a crack may be appearing in the market euphoria, said Yasuo Sakuma, investment director at Libra Investments, noting that some rising US small-cap stocks, such as biotechnology and software as a service, have failed to keep up with a broader rally .
“There are many loss-making companies valued at more than $ 10 billion. I think the time for the illusion that they can make money doing business only in a virtual world is over. Soon, these companies will no longer be able to attract money just because they have a good business idea or some interesting test products. ” he said.
Russell 2000, a US stock index that includes small caps, fell 1.85% on Tuesday.
In the foreign exchange market, the dollar fell on the first trading day for settlement in 2021, when traders began to part with the US safe haven currency again.
The euro rose 0.3% to $ 1.2295, a level last seen in April 2018.
“The start of COVID-19 immunization campaigns in several countries, as well as additional US fiscal support, reduces the risk of a downturn for the global economy and bodes well for the overall sentiment of the financial market,” said Commonwealth analysts. Bank of Australia on a note.
The Australian dollar was up 0.6% to $ 0.7663, reaching the highest high of 2 ½ years, while the British pound was traded up 0.30% to $ 1.3556.
The Japanese yen also gained 0.15%, to 103.36 per dollar.
The US dollar index losing 0.25% to stay at 89.798, having reached a 2 1/2 year low of 89.711 at one point.
A weak dollar supported gold, with gold prices up 0.14% at $ 1,880.70 an ounce. [GOL/]
Oil prices increased gains after an overnight recovery, while investors hoped that an expanded stimulus to U.S. pandemic aid would stimulate fuel demand and spur economic growth.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.21% to $ 48.10 a barrel. [O/R]
Treasury bonds changed shortly after being traded sideways during the night, amid the holidays. Two-year yields in the USA remained stable at 0.127% and the 10-year reference yields at 0.9364%. [US/]