* Asian Stock Exchanges: tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* The Nikkei index is up 0.5% on cautious trading
* As the S&P 500 futures rise 0.5%, the United States is releasing the vaccine
* Sterling makes modest profits as Brexit talks are extended
* The eyes of the US Congress, the central bank for stimulus guidance
Sydney, Dec.
Advances in corona virus vaccines have sparked a sense of danger, with first exports across the United States accelerating as part of a historic mission to vaccinate more than 100 million people by the end of March.
“It provides a tailwind to the vaccine market and allows investors beyond the continuing enrollment status, hospitalization and mortality,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 responded up 0.5%, while the Treasury bond futures fell 4 ticks in March. EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 0.5% and FTSE futures added 0.1%.
Outside Japan, MSCI’s Asia-Pacific broadband index rose 0.1% to a record high last week.
Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.5% in the December quarter as a survey showed that sentiment had improved among Japanese businesses.
Sterling remained firm on both the euro and the dollar as Britain and the European Union agreed to continue post-Brexit trade talks beyond Sunday’s deadline.
Against the dollar, the pound was up 0.7% at 33,3321 and $ 1.3222 on Friday. The euro was down 0.5% at 91.09 pence, a three-month high of 92.29.
“Our basic case is that a ‘thin’ free trade agreement will be reached by the end of this year,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note.
“It’s a lot of uncertainty. With no progress in recent weeks, our economists now see the risks of a non – contractual decision.”
This could be seen as raising the euro to 96.00 pence, while Goldman predicts that a deal could send the pound marching to 87.00 to the euro.
Risk of Fed Twist
The single currency is already charging heavily against the US dollar, with many analysts believing it has entered a cycle of decline as the prospect of a vaccine-driven global economic recovery reduces the need for safe havens.
The euro rose 0.2% to 13 1.2134 on Monday and its latest 31-month high of 17 1.2177. The dollar index was at 90.797, close to its latest high of 90.471.
An additional barrier to the dollar will be the Federal Reserve policy meeting on December 15-16. Rather than buying more securities or “twisting” its portfolio to add to its long-term debt, the market expects the Fed to refine its policy forward direction.
“There is a risk that the central bank will make a surprise turn at this meeting, and then the Treasury mobilize and the US dollar may fall,” said Tabas Strickland, NAB’s director of economics.
After a top Democrat pointed out that they might compromise to get an agreement past Republican objections, the prospect of a US deal on fiscal stimulation is further summed up.
Reuters reports that the $ 908 billion relief plan will be split in two in an effort to get approval and could be launched early Monday.
All the talk of the trigger helped put a base under gold, which dropped a shadow to $ 1,836 an ounce. Gold, considered a safeguard against inflation and currency devaluation, has risen more than 21% this year.
Oil prices rallied for a six-week high on Monday as investors set prices for next year’s global recovery.
US crude was up 33 cents at $ 46.90 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 39 cents at $ 50.36 a barrel.
Wayne Cole Report; Edited by Sri Navaratnam and Jackie Wong.