Stocks, Equity Futures Climb; Dollar Edges Lower: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg

unitedstatepolitics.blogspot.com

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

U.S. equity futures pushed higher with Asian stocks in early trading Monday as investors awaited confirmation on whether President Donald Trump has approved a coronavirus stimulus package. The dollar ticked lower with Treasuries.

S&P 500 futures reversed opening losses after Trump tweeted that there is “good news” about the $900 billion bipartisan package, adding more information will follow. Shares climbed in Tokyo and Seoul. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped and Treasury yields edged up. Oil pared losses and gold rose.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will also be in focus after its U.S.-listed shares tumbled the most ever on concern over China’s inquiry into alleged monopolistic practices. The company Monday boosted its share buyback program to $10 billion. Chinese regulators over the weekend ordered affiliate Ant Group Co. to return to its roots as a provider of payments services, a development that threatens to clip its growth.

Elsewhere, the pound was steady after the U.K. last week clinched an historic Brexit trade deal with the European Union.

Delayed U.S. stimulus risks sapping some of the optimism that drove global stocks to a record this month. Unemployment benefits have begun expiring for millions of Americans and a possible government shutdown looms unless Trump signs the bipartisan U.S. pandemic relief and government funding bill. The president has demanded Congress boost stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600. Votes are expected Monday to try and break the deadlock.

On the coronavirus front, more restrictions are being imposed to fight the spread of the new, more infectious strain. Japan is among the latest to act, banning the entry of most foreigners through the end of January. Meanwhile, the European Union kicked off a continent-wide vaccination campaign less than a week after clearing a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin kept rallying over the festive break, surging past $28,000 for the first time before retreating.

Here are some key events coming up:

• President Donald Trump has until the end of Monday to sign the combined pandemic relief and funding bill to avoid the start of a partial government shutdown.
• U.S. pending home sales and goods trade balance data are due Wednesday.
• U.S. initial jobless claims figures are published Thursday.
• Most global stock markets are closed Friday for New Year’s Day.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 9:12 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4% on Thursday.
• Japan’s Topix Index rose 0.2%
• South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 0.7%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell about 0.1%.
• The yen was steady at 103.46 per dollar.
• The euro fell 0.1% to $1.2185.
• The pound dipped 0.1% to $1.3542.
• The offshore yuan was at 6.5192 per dollar, down 0.1%.
• The Aussie was little changed at 76 U.S. cents.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 0.93%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $47.76 a barrel.
• Gold advanced 0.3% to $1,888 an ounce.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"Market" - Google News
December 28, 2020 at 05:21AM
https://ift.tt/37PtRp5

Stocks, Equity Futures Climb; Dollar Edges Lower: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg
"Market" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Yge9gs
https://ift.tt/2Wls1p6