TOKYO / NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, following modest Wall Street gains, as expectations that a vaccine would end up winning the battle against coronavirus fueled hopes of recovery, while supply expectations forced to raise oil prices to a maximum of one year.
MSCI’s broader Asia-Pacific stock index outside Japan rose 0.61%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.12%.
Chinese stocks rose 0.07%, while South Korea’s KOSPI gained 1.05%. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 reversed losses and added 0.18%.
US stock futures rose 0.18%.
The Treasuries widened their rally, moving the benchmark ten-year yields away from the highest in nearly a year and causing the yield curve to flatten slightly.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.03%, German DAX futures rose 0.03% and British FTSE futures rose 0.18%, pointing to a moderate start to European trade.
Investors are betting that the incoming Biden administration will increase the U.S. distribution of coronavirus vaccines and invest heavily in stimulus, which will contribute to a global economic recovery and increased demand for commodities, analysts say.
Hugh Young, Asia-Pacific chief at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said he expected investor interest in Asia seen in the second half of 2020 to hold this year.
“The eternal question is overvaluation. The Asian markets have performed very well, which is a bit frustrating, but without a doubt the quality is in Asia, the momentum is in Asia, so it seems to be a stable year and a positive year for Asia. ” , Young told a Reuters group Next conference.
On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated almost unchanged during the session, not far from record highs. The Dow rose 0.19%, the S&P 500 gained 0.04% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.28%.
The US Texas West Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.13% to $ 53.81 a barrel, hitting a high since February after a larger-than-expected drop in crude inventories. American. Brent crude rose 1.27% to $ 57.30. [API/S]
Oil prices were also supported after Saudi Arabia said it plans to cut production by an additional 1 million barrels a day in February and March.
Some investors were monitoring developments in Washington after at least three Republicans said they would join Democrats in a vote expected Wednesday to accuse President Donald Trump of the recent turmoil at the U.S. Capitol.
With seven days to go before his term, Trump faces charges of inciting insurrection in a speech to his supporters last week before hundreds of them stormed the Capitol and left five dead. Trump says his speech was appropriate.
A dismissal trial could continue even after Trump leaves office on Jan. 20, but analysts say they do not expect any further political turmoil in Washington to affect markets.
“Markets since the election have been pretty strong because the uncertainty factor has been eliminated,” said Peter Essele, chief portfolio manager at Boston’s Commonwealth Financial Network.
10-year benchmark government debt yields fell to 1.1240% on Wednesday, below the nearly one-year high of 1.1870% reached in the previous session after a well-received auction from new tickets to ten years.
The yield curve, which had reached its strongest since May 2017, in line with expectations of a large fiscal stimulus under a new democratic administration, narrowed slightly to 97.5 basis points.
The dollar suffered losses on Wednesday as the withdrawal from U.S. yields suppressed its recent rebound.
Against the yen, the green dollar fell 0.12% to 103.65. The dollar also fell to $ 1.3683 against the British pound.
The safe haven gold added 0.2% to $ 1,860.13 an ounce.
Report by Stanley White in Tokyo and Chibuike Oguh in New York; Edited by Sam Holmes, Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Kim Coghill