WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Asian markets are expected to open higher on Friday after U.S. stocks soared as investors weighed the prospects for economic growth and inflation and hailed progress on vaccination implementations.
“Market sentiment remains very optimistic and volatility, by post-pandemic patterns, is remarkably low,” said IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda.
“At the moment – and in fact, this may be a level of complacency – the instability of the week’s actions has been overcome.”
Australian S & P / ASX 200 futures were up 0.30% at the start of the trading day, while the stock index for MSCI worldwide rose 0.14%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.77%. The broader MSCI Asia-Pacific stock index outside Japan closed down 0.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.02%.
The Nikkei 225 closed the night session up 1.14% to 28,729.88. The futures contract is up 0.52% as of this closing. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were up 0.37%.
US Department of Labor data showed that unemployment benefit claims fell to a year-low last week, a sign that the US economy is on the verge of stronger growth as the health situation public health improves and temperatures rise.
In his first formal press conference, US President Joe Biden said he would double his government’s vaccination plan after reaching the previous goal of 100 million shots 42 days ahead of schedule.
On Wall Street, stocks closely linked to an economic recovery led to the recovery, while some continued weakness between high-growth stocks and shares in energy companies prevented the S&P 500 and other major indices from rising significantly.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 199.42 points, or 0.62%, to 32,619.48, the S&P 500 gained 20.38 points, or 0.52%, to 3,909.52 and the Nasdaq Composite added 15.79 points , or 0.12%, to 12,977.68.
Oil fell after rising a day earlier, when a container ship was trapped in the Suez Canal. The ship can block the vital shipping route for weeks.
US crude fell 0.09% to $ 58.51 a barrel and Brent was at $ 61.84, down 3.99% on the day.
Weighing in on the sentiment, there was a sale of Chinese technology stocks amid concerns here that they will be pulled out of US stock exchanges for fears about a semiconductor shortage.
Nike Inc shares fell 3.4% as the sporting goods giant faced a negative reaction from Chinese social media because of its comments on reports of forced labor in Xinjiang.
The dollar index hit its highest since November overnight, at 92,697, breaking its 200-day moving average.
The dollar index rose 0.265%, with the euro rising 0.05%, to $ 1.177.
“The dollar is absolutely critical,” said James Athey, chief investment officer at Aberdeen Standard Investments. “If the dollar starts to rise, it becomes a problem. It means weakness in commodities and weakness in the emerging market and begins to provide a narrative of disinflationary compensation. “
The 10-year benchmark notes rose in price for the last time to yield 1.6332%, from 1.614% on Thursday night.
Spot gold added 0.1% to $ 1,727.73 an ounce.
Reporting by Katanga Johnson; edition by Richard Pullin