World stock markets begin in 2021 at record highs

LONDON (Reuters) – Global stock markets hit record highs on Monday, the first trading day of the new year, as investors hoped vaccine launches would finally lift a global economy decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chinese yuan rose nearly 1% against the dollar, while the green dollar fell to its lowest levels against a basket of foreign exchange from other countries since April 2018. Bitcoin placed -sever above $ 32,000, following a sudden 800% rise since mid-March.

European stocks rose, with the British FTSE 100 gaining 1.75%, the German DAX 1.1%, the Spanish IBEX 1.3% and the Italian FTSE MIB 0.7 %. [.EU]

The MSCI World Index of Countries, which tracks the actions of 49 countries, hit a record high and rose by almost half a percent the day after the start of trading in London.

“The year that began ended in 2020, everything was concentrated with the double dichotomy V (vaccine virus) seeing the hope that things get worse and the stimulus increases or things get better and, well, things always get better that there is no indication of liquidity withdrawal or rage, ”one trader said.

Asian stock markets also gained, although the Japanese Nikkei 225 index reduced first gains, falling 0.4% after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirmed that the government was considering a state of emergency for Tokyo. and three surrounding prefectures as the coronavirus spread.

Despite optimism about vaccines, investors remain cautious about the virus’s trajectory, which continues to spread amid the discovery of a new strain.

“The virus maintains control for a longer time,” said Karl Steiner, chief quantitative strategist at SEB, noting that vaccinations have had an uneven start, characterized by vaccine shortages, vaccine resistance and the delays.

Britain began vaccinating its population with the COVID-19 trait developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca on Monday.

With the gap between the full deployment of vaccines and the global economic recovery, investors will rely on central banks to keep the money cheap.

“We continue to believe that stocks have more room to increase in 2021, as monetary and fiscal stimulus measures provide a headwind, and we anticipate significant earnings growth as the global economy recovers,” Mark said. Haefele, Investment Director of UBS Global Wealth Management.

The minutes of the December meeting of the Federal Reserve are due to be presented on Wednesday and should provide more details on discussions on how to make its political orientation more explicit and the possibility of a further increase in the purchase of active this year.

Future E-Minis for the S&P 500 were stable after hitting a record as well.

For the graph of global actions against the virus:

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The data schedule includes a wealth of manufacturing surveys around the world, which will show how the industry copes with the spread of coronavirus and highly monitored ISM surveys of U.S. factories and services.

Activity at Chinese factories continued to accelerate in December, although the PMI lost forecasts to 53.0.

Japanese manufacturing stabilized for the first time in two years in December, while Taiwan rose.

The December payroll report for the United States is presented on Friday, where average forecasts are only for a modest increase of 100,000 jobs.

Analysts like Barclays are assuming a drop of 50,000 jobs, which would be a shock to market expectations of a speedy recovery.

“Several incoming activity indicators point to a slower momentum as the economy closes the year, including data on labor markets where initial demand increased during the December survey period,” he said. say economist Michael Gapen in a note.

This fall would add pressure on the Fed to cut even further, another burden for the dollar that is already falling under the weight of the massive U.S. budget and trade deficits.

In foreign currency, the euro fell to $ 1.2281, after having made profits late last week, when it peaked since early 2018, at $ 1.2309. It gained almost 9% compared to 2020.

The dollar fell to 102.80 yen. The pound sterling was confirmed at $ 1.3690, levels that were last seen in mid-2018.

The fall in the dollar has been a support for gold, leaving the metal 1.3% firmer at $ 1,931 an ounce.

Oil prices widened their rise after a couple of months of solid gains, with Brent crossing $ 53 a barrel. [O/R] US crude added 2% to $ 49.52 a barrel.