Stocks, Equity Futures Climb; Dollar Edges Lower: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg

U.S. and European equity futures pushed higher with most Asian stocks Monday after President Donald Trump signed a coronavirus stimulus package. The dollar ticked lower with Treasuries.

S&P 500 contracts climbed after Trump backed down from last-minute demands and approved the combined $2.3 trillion Covid-19 relief and government funding package. Shares advanced in Tokyo and Seoul, and fluctuated in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped and Treasury yields climbed. Oil slipped and gold rose.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. slid in Hong Kong despite boosting its share buyback program to $10 billion, amid ongoing concern over China’s inquiry into alleged monopolistic practices. Chinese regulators over the weekend ordered affiliate Ant Group Co. to return to its roots as a provider of payments services, a development that threatens to clip its growth.

Elsewhere, the pound fluctuated after the U.K. last week clinched an historic Brexit trade deal with the European Union.

The signing of the U.S. legislation averts a further delay in stimulus and bolsters some of the optimism that drove global stocks to a record this month even as the pandemic escalates. In approving the bill, Trump also demanded a vote in Congress to replace the planned $600 in direct stimulus payments with $2,000 -- a non-binding request that is unlikely to pass both chambers.

The stimulus “could be supportive of the market, supportive of the U.S. economy,” said Suresh Tantia, strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG. “Next year all the building blocks are there for markets to continue this rally.”

On the coronavirus front, more restrictions are being imposed to fight the spread of the new, more infectious strain. Japan is among the latest to act, banning the entry of most foreigners through the end of January. Meanwhile, the European Union kicked off a continent-wide vaccination campaign less than a week after clearing a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin kept rallying over the festive break, surging past $28,000 on Sunday for the first time before retreating.

Here are some key events coming up:

• U.S. pending home sales and goods trade balance data are due Wednesday.
• U.S. initial jobless claims figures are published Thursday.
• Most global stock markets are closed Friday for New Year’s Day.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% as of 7 a.m. in London. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4% on Thursday.
• Japan’s Topix Index rose 0.5%
• South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 0.1%.
• Hang Seng Index shed 0.1%.
• Shanghai Composite index was steady.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures added 0.5%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
• The yen was at 103.46 per dollar.
• The euro rose 0.3% to $1.2223.
• The pound was little changed at $1.3567.
• The offshore yuan was at 6.5255 per dollar, down 0.2%.
• The Aussie advanced 0.2% to 76.20 U.S. cents.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis point to 0.95%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $48.02 a barrel.
• Gold advanced 0.2% to $1,887 an ounce.

— With assistance by Eric Lam

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