© Reuters. A man reflected on a Tokyo stock quotation board
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO (Reuters) – A number of Chinese and US economic data helped support global equities near record highs on Friday as investors were able to price a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced price.
In Asia, markets were largely stable after China reported a rapid acceleration in first-quarter growth.
Shanghai shares fell 0.2% while declining.
Analysts said the China data did little to change expectations of a strong recovery and further tightening of policies to curb any excessive real estate investment.
“Real estate investments have been weaker, but this is no surprise as policymakers have sharpened lending to the sector as consumption continues to normalize,” said Ei Kaku, senior strategist at Nomura.
“Overall, the data is unlikely to have a major impact.”
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 0.2%, while it was almost equal.
MSCI’s broadest benchmark for world equities declined by 0.05% through Asian trade after 0.89 percent gains the previous day to a record high.
“U.S. economic data released yesterday was strong, confirming that the U.S. economy is strongly on a recovery path,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE :). Morgan Stanley (NYSE 🙂 Securities.
U.S. retail sales recovered 9.8% in March, the largest increase since May 2020, in a profit that pushed the sales level 17.1% above the pre-pandemic level to a record high.
The brightening economic outlook has been underlined by other data, including first-time claims for unemployment benefits that dropped to their lowest level since March 2020 last week.
Despite strong data, US bond yields have fallen, driven in part by Japanese purchases, as it began a new financial year this month.
The US Treasury’s 10-year yield fell to 1.529% on Thursday, a five-week low, last rising to 1.578%, below the 14-month high of 1.776% set at the end of March.
“The market has praised an economic recovery in the US in the short term. And if the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates for the next two to three years, the execution of US bonds will undoubtedly be very attractive compared to Japanese countries. the eurozone, ”said Chotaro Morita, chief strategist for fixed income at SMBC Nikko Securities.
The decline in long-term returns has favored stocks, and especially technology stocks, given the idea that their historically expensive valuations can be justified because investors have no choice but to buy stocks to make up for low-yield bonds.
On Wall Street, the advanced rose 1.11%, while the tech heavy added 1.31%, near its record high in February.
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar was lower yields.
The euro stood at $ 1,1951 after hitting a six-week high of $ 1.19935 overnight, while the US currency fell to a three-week low of 108.61 yen and last traded at 108.89.
Oil prices were maintained after reaching a four-week high on Thursday, following positive US economic data and higher demand forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC.
futures equated to $ 66.89 a barrel, while also changing little at $ 63.36 a barrel, both on track for their first significant weekly profit in six.