U.S. and European stock futures rose with most Asian stocks on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a coronavirus stimulus package. The dollar fell with Treasury bills.
S&P 500 contracts increased after Trump dropped last-minute demands and approved Covid-19’s $ 2.3 trillion government funding and relief package. Shares advanced in Tokyo and Seoul, and fluctuated in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell and Treasury yields went up. The oil slipped and the gold rose.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. fell in Hong Kong despite increasing its share buyback program to $ 10 billion, amid continued concern about China’s investigation into alleged monopoly practices. Chinese regulators over the weekend asked for affiliate Ant Group Co. must return to its roots as a payment service provider, a development that threatens to stop its growth.
Elsewhere, the pound fluctuated after the United Kingdom last week struck a historic Brexit trade deal with the European Union.
The signing of US legislation avoids further delays in stimulus and reinforces some of the optimism that led global stocks to a record this month, even as the pandemic escalated. In approving the bill, Trump also demanded a vote in Congress to replace the planned $ 600 in direct stimulus payments with $ 2,000 – a non-binding request that is unlikely to pass in both chambers.
The stimulus “may be favorable to the market, favorable to the US economy,” said Suresh Tantia, strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG. “Next year, all the building blocks are there for the markets to continue this high.”
In front of the coronavirus, more restrictions are being imposed to combat the spread of the new, more infectious strain. Japan is among the last to act, banning the entry of most foreigners until the end of January. Meanwhile, the European Union started a vaccination campaign across the continent less than a week after cleaning up a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin continued to recover during the festive break, exceeding $ 28,000 on Sunday for the first time before retreating.
Here are some important events to come:
- Pending US home sales and trade balance data are due on Wednesday.
- The initial numbers of claims for unemployment benefits in the US are published Thursday.
- Most global stock markets close on Friday for New Year’s Day.
These are the main movements in the markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 futures were up 0.6% from 7am in London. The S&P 500 index rose 0.4% on Thursday.
- Japan’s Topix Index rose 0.5%
- South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.1%.
- The Hang Seng index fell 0.1%.
- The Shanghai Composite index was stable.
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures added 0.5%.
Coins
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
- The yen was at 103.46 per dollar.
- The euro rose 0.3% to $ 1.2223.
- The pound barely changed at $ 1.3567.
- The offshore yuan was 6.5255 per dollar, down 0.2%.
- The Australian advanced 0.2% to 76.20 US cents.
Titles
- Yield on 10-year Treasury bonds increased three basis points to 0.95%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $ 48.02 a barrel.
- Gold advanced 0.2% to $ 1,887 an ounce.
– With the help of Eric Lam