© Reuters. A representation of the virtual currency Bitcoin and the US dollar banknote is seen in this illustration in front of a stock chart
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By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian equities hovered near the highs of 1-1 / 2-week on Monday, helped by expectations that monetary policy will remain accommodative worldwide, while COVID-19 vaccination through the vaccine will help allay fears of ‘ to relieve another dangerous wave of coronavirus infections.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was last at 695.59, within striking distance of Friday’s high of 696.48 – a level not seen since April 7.
The index rose 1.2% last week and has risen 5% so far this year, on its way to its third straight annual profit.
“The highly supportive monetary and fiscal policy institution continues to provide a fertile environment for risk assets,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior forex strategist at National Australia Bank (OTC :).
Australian equities were up 0.25%, while New Zealand’s benchmark index and South Korea added 0.4% each. compared 0.4%.
On Friday, it rose 0.4% to close at a new record high while achieving its sixth straight weekly profit. The Dow gained 0.5%, also at a record high, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.1%.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.3% in early Asian trading.
This week starts quietly, with no major data releases on Monday.
Investors keep their eyes open for earnings IBM (NYSE 🙂 and Coca-Cola (NYSE 🙂 later that day. Netflix (NASDAQ 🙂 reported Tuesday, while American Airlines (NASDAQ 🙂 and Southwest are the first major cycles to COVID to deliver results later this week.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is meeting on Thursday with no change in rates or guidance, while preliminary data on factory activity around the world is available for April Friday.
Elsewhere, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has recovered most of its losses after plunging as much as 14% on Sunday after speculation that the US Treasury may want to oversee money laundering activities within digital assets, NAB’s Catril said. said.
The data website CoinMarketCap cites an eclipse in the Xinjiang region of China, which allegedly drives a lot of bitcoin mining, for sale.
The decline in Bitcoin also comes after Turkey’s central bank on Friday banned the use of cryptocurrencies for purchases.
Bitcoin is year over year more than 90% higher, driven by its general acceptance as an investment and a means of payment, accompanied by the rush of retail cash to stocks, exchange traded funds and other risky assets.
In currencies, the US dollar hit a four-week low against a basket of currencies as investors increasingly bought into the Federal Reserve to keep it afloat for a while longer.
The measurement of the greenback against a basket of six currencies was unchanged at 91,612, not far from the lowest since March 18 on Friday.
Against the Japanese yen, the rookie lost 108.72. The euro was slightly lower at $ 1.1966, while the British pound fell 0.07% to $ 1.3820.
The risk-sensitive dollar slipped for a second consecutive day to drop 0.2% to $ 0.7715.
In commodities, oil prices fell by 34 cents to $ 66.43 a barrel and by 29 cents to $ 62.84.
Gold rose 0.2% to $ 1,779.3 an ounce.