NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (Reuters) – Asian stocks will end a tumultuous 2020 around record highs on Thursday as riskier currencies cross near 2-1 / 2-year highs, fueled by hopes that COVID-19 vaccine deployment will help the world beat the pandemic.
The optimistic mood, reflected in overnight gains on Wall Street, swept the dollar “safe haven” and drove currencies such as the euro, the pound sterling, the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar overnight to maximums not seen in more than 2-1 2 years.
S&P E-Mini futures rose 0.11% to 3,728.5, while the MSCI value of Asia-Pacific equities, excluding Japan, changed little to 661.76, a breather from its record high. of 661.80.
For the year, the MSCI index has risen nearly 20%, surpassing a 15.5% gain in the US S&P 500.
Australian stocks lost 0.23%, while the Japanese stock market is closed on Thursday.
Investors expecting a brighter 2021 will observe China’s official index of manufacturing purchasing managers for December, which will be released on Thursday at 1am GMT.
Analysts expect the index to show that China’s manufacturing sector is growing at a solid pace in December, as the world’s second-largest economy steadily bounces back to the coronavirus crisis.
Still, some analysts warned that this year’s significant gains in global stock markets could mean much less room for a new appreciation in 2021.
“We would say that 80% of all the basic good news expected for 2021 is already incorporated,” DataTrek Research analysts said in a note, adding that “real surprises” would be needed next year for the North Stock Exchange. -American rises another 10%.
For now, however, healthy risk appetite has kept U.S. dollar investors.
The struggling dollar fell 0.46% to 89.59 against a basket of currencies, hitting an all-time low since April 2018.
A dull dollar helped the euro hold firm at a 32-month high of $ 1.2298. The pound sterling also remained stable at $ 1.3611, a level that was last seen in May 2018. The Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar also remained at their respective 32-month highs of 0, $ 7665 and $ 0.7215.
A battered dollar also supported gold, with bullion prices on a touchdown of $ 1,894,225 an ounce.
However, oil prices slowed the trend, reversing a shadow, as rising year-on-year supply led some traders to consider the economic recovery of the future to be gradual and not rapid.
West Texas Intermediate U.S. Crude Crude released 0.02% to trade at $ 48.39, well below $ 62 in early 2020.
Treasuries varied little, with 10-year benchmark yields in the U.S. at 0.9264% and two-year yields at 0.1250%.
Koh Gui Qing Reports; Edited by Richard Chang