Asian stocks live on hope for economic revival By Reuters

By Swati Pandey

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian stocks hovered near record highs on Monday as oil piled closer to $ 60 a barrel, hoping a $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 aid package would help U.S. lawmakers as soon as this month coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out. worldwide.

MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific stock index outside Japan last rose 0.3% to 717.2 after rising to 730.16 late last month.

jumped 2% while Australian shares rose 0.8%, led by technology and mining stocks. Chinese stocks were slightly positive with the blue-chip CSI300 index rising 0.1%.

E-mini futures for the added 0.4% in early Asian trading.

Hopes for a faster economic recovery and the imposition of restrictions by producer group OPEC and its allies have pushed oil to a one-year high, rising near $ 60 a barrel.

Global stock markets have scaled down the record high in recent days in hopes of accelerating economic recovery, led by successful vaccine rollouts and expectations of a major US pandemic relief package.

On Friday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 achieved the highest corporate results in the fourth quarter, and because companies were on track to achieve earnings growth for the first quarter instead of a decline.

The marches took place even though US data showed a bleak picture of the country’s labor market with salaries rising by 49,000, half of what economists expected.

The weak report spurred the call for more stimulus, highlighting the need for lawmakers to act under President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 aid package.

Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress continued their stimulus plan on Friday when lawmakers approved a budget plan that would allow them to step up in the coming weeks without Republican support.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yallen has predicted that the United States will get full service next year if Congress can pass its support package.

“This is a big call, as full-time employment is 4.1%, but one that will fit well with the market at a time when the vaccination program is being rolled out effectively in a number of countries,” said Chris Weston, Melbourne’s chief strategist. , said. Pepperstone.

Expectations of a US economic recovery did not boost the setback, ‘because the market outlook is seen as part of a global recovery’, Westpac economists write in a note.

“Investors therefore prefer to take risks and therefore value the safety of the US dollar less.”

Indeed, the greenback took off a four-month high of the Japanese yen and was last at 105.49.

The euro was slightly weaker after rising 0.7% on Friday to a week high of $ 1.2054. That was last $ 1.2034.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar fell from a one-week high to $ 0.7675.

In commodities, 59 cents each climbed to $ 59.93 and $ 0.57.44, respectively.

US rose 0.1% to $ 1,815.4 per ounce.