TOKYO / NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asian equities rose on Wednesday, watching moderate gains on Wall Street as expectations that a vaccine will eventually win the battle against the coronavirus boost hopes for recovery, while strict oil expectations oil prices have risen to a one-year high. .
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.61%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.12%.
Chinese shares rose 0.07%, while KOSPI rose 1.05% in South Korea. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 reversed losses and added 0.18%.
US equities rose 0.18%.
Treasury has extended their rise and flattened the ten-year yield further away from the highest in almost a year, flattening the yield curve slightly.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.03%, German DAX futures rose 0.03% and Britain’s FTSE futures fell 0.18%, indicating a subdued start to European trade.
Investors are betting that the incoming Biden administration will increase the spread of coronavirus vaccines in the US and spend much more on more stimulus, which will contribute to a global economic recovery and greater demand for commodities, analysts say.
Hugh Young, head of Asia Pacific at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said he expects investor interest in Asia, which would be seen in the second half of 2020, to continue this year.
‘The eternal question is overestimation. “Asian markets have performed excellently, which is frustrating, but the quality is definitely in Asia, so the momentum in Asia is a stable year and a positive year for Asia,” Young said. Reuters Next conference.
On Wall Street, the shares for the session fluctuated almost unchanged, not far from record highs. The Dow rose 0.19%, the S&P 500 rose 0.04% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.28%.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.13% to $ 53.81 a barrel, the highest since February after a larger-than-expected drop in US crude stocks. Brent crude rose 1.27% to $ 57.30. [API/S]
Oil prices were also supported after Saudi Arabia said it planned to reduce production by 1 million barrels a day in February and March.
Some investors have been watching developments in Washington after at least three Republicans said they would join Democrats in a vote expected on Wednesday to accuse President Donald Trump of the recent unrest in the U.S. Capitol.
With seven more days in office, Trump is being accused of inciting an uprising in a speech to his followers last week before hundreds of them stormed the Capitol, leaving five dead. Trump says his speech was appropriate.
An indictment may continue even after Trump left office on January 20, but analysts say they do not expect any further political unrest in Washington to affect the market.
“The markets since the election have been quite strong because uncertainty factor has been removed,” said Peter Essele, head of portfolio management at Commonwealth Financial Network in Boston.
Yields on 10-year US government debt fell to 1.1240% on Wednesday, compared to a near-one-year high of 1.1870% reached in the previous session after a very good 10-year auction -note.
The yield curve, which has reached the strongest since May 2017 over expectations for major fiscal stimulus under a new Democratic government, has narrowed slightly to 97.5 basis points.
The dollar sustained losses on Wednesday due to a pullback in U.S. yields, which locked up its recent setback.
Against the yen, the greenback fell 0.12% to 103.65. The dollar also rose to $ 1.3683 against the British pound.
Secure port-spot gold added 0.2% to $ 1,860.13 per ounce.
Reporting by Stanley White in Tokyo and Chibuike Oguh in New York; Edited by Sam Holmes, Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Kim Coghill