NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (Reuters) – Asian stocks are set to end turbulent 2020 by hovering close to record highs on Thursday, while riskier currencies crossed close to peaks of 2-1 / 2 years, fueled by hope that the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine will help the world win the pandemic.
The optimistic mood, reflected in overnight gains on Wall Street, defeated the “safe haven” dollar and boosted currencies such as the euro, the pound sterling, the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar overnight to unseen maxims in more than 2-1 / 2 years.
E-Mini S&P futures rose 0.11% to 3,728.5, while the MSCI valuation of Asia Pacific stocks, excluding Japan, changed little at 661.76, a little bit from its record high of 661, 80.
For the year, the MSCI index rose almost 20%, exceeding a 15.5% gain on the US S&P 500.
Australian stocks lost 0.23%, while the Japanese stock market is closed on Thursday.
Investors looking forward to a brighter 2021 will be keeping an eye on China’s official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for December, scheduled for Thursday at 01:00 GMT.
Analysts expect the index to show China’s manufacturing sector growing at a solid pace in December, while the world’s second largest economy is continually recovering from the coronavirus crisis.
Still, some analysts have warned that this year’s dramatic gains in global equity markets could mean much less room for further appreciation in 2021.
“We would say that 80% of all the good news expected in 2021 is already incorporated,” analysts at DataTrek Research said in a note, adding that some “real surprises” would be needed next year for the US stock market to rise another 10% .
For now, however, the healthy appetite for risk has pushed investors away from the US dollar.
The struggling dollar fell 0.46% to 89.59 against a basket of currencies, reaching a low not seen since April 2018.
An apathetic dollar helped the euro to steady at a $ 1.2298 high in 32 months. The pound sterling also remained stable at $ 1.3611, a level last seen in May 2018. The Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar also remained at their respective 32-month highs of $ 0.7665 and $ 0.7215.
A battered dollar also supported gold, with gold prices rising slightly, to $ 1,894,225 an ounce.
Oil prices counteracted the trend, however, retreating slightly, as the year-over-year increase in supply has led some traders to see any future economic recovery as gradual rather than rapid.
US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.02% to trade at $ 48.39, well below about $ 62 in early 2020.
Treasury bills have changed little, with US 10-year reference yields at 0.9264% and two-year yields at 0.1250%.
Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Richard Chang edition