© Reuters. TV camera men wait for the market to open in front of a large screen showing stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo
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Written by Lawrence White and Julie Chu
LONDON / HONG KONG (Reuters) – Stocks, oil and risk currencies rose on Tuesday as the official green light for US President-elect Joe Biden to start his transition in November was already fueled by COVID-19 vaccines.
European markets tracked gains in Asian and American equities, with the index opening the wide range, up 0.8% and climbing to its highest level since March at $ 46.38 a barrel. Safe haven assets have declined like gold.
After weeks of legal challenges to the election results, Emily Murphy, head of the US General Services Administration, wrote to Biden on Monday informing him of the possibility of the formal handover process beginning.
President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that he had told his team, “Do what needs to be done with regard to the initial protocols,” indicating that he was moving toward a transition.
“Markets have been constrained by very high levels of uncertainty on the US political front and around vaccines for weeks, so as these two investors exit, investors are considering the possibility of returning to normal life in 2021,” said Emmanuel Cao, head of the European Equities Division. Strategy in Barclays (Color :).
Reports that Biden is planning to nominate former Fed Chair Janet Yellen to become the next Treasury Secretary, strengthened US stocks on expectations that she will pursue more traditional policies than outgoing Stephen Mnuchin.
Futures rose 1.2% in early European trading hours and put the MSCI 49-nation global stock index on course for a new record high at a later time.
It jumped 2.5% to the highest level since May 1991 overnight, with energy, real estate and financial stocks leading the rally.
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan rose 0.4%. Australia’s index was stronger by 1.26%, hitting its highest level in nearly nine months, as energy stocks led the group there.
The Kospi in Seoul is up 0.6% and Hong Kong is up 0.4%. However, the leading stocks in China were divergent, down 0.6%, as investors booked profits after the recent strong gains.
(Chart: Global Markets Enjoy November Title https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/azgpozyqgvd/24-11%20assets.jpg)
Some analysts say that the Biden presidency, which may mean more negotiating space for Washington and Beijing, will not make much difference to the Chinese stock market, as they expected little change in the broad US policy towards China.
Advances in COVID-19 vaccines, which boosted Wall Street overnight, helped keep risk appetite high as it boosted optimism about a faster recovery of the global economy.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ) and the University of Oxford said on Monday that a COVID-19 vaccine, which is cheaper to manufacture, easier to distribute and faster to expand than its competitors, can be 90% effective.
On the stakes
The New Zealand dollar was among the winners in the currency, rising 0.9% to a two-year high of $ 0.6985, as the central bank said house prices, which have been rising this year, could be included in the inflation basket.
The Euro was climbing towards $ 1.19 again, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major competitors, down to 92.235.
As hopes for the vaccine prompted him, oil has reached levels not seen since before the Coronavirus began spreading rapidly in March and led to a drop in demand.
Brent crude futures rose 45 cents, or 1%, to $ 46.51 a barrel, adding to an increase of more than 20% this month, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 46 cents, or 1.1%, to $ 43.52.
“The progress made in developing and distributing a vaccine eliminates the risks of returning to normal for oil markets,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at financial services company ACCI.
In the bond markets, the yield on the 10-year benchmark rose slightly to 0.87% as it did on most European government bonds. The German 10-year note yield rose 1 basis point to -0.57% in early trade.
Gold continued to lose its luster as well, dropping to $ 1,826.3 an ounce, having now fallen 10% this month.
