Global stock rally cools; dollar steadies: markets wrap

A rally in global equities cooled Wednesday as investors balanced optimism spurred by vaccine and political developments against a challenging economic outlook amid the pandemic. The dollar steadied.

A gauge of Asia-Pacific shares gave up an earlier climb of about 1%. South Korean and Chinese stocks turned lower, while those in Japan posted modest gains. US and European futures ticked higher. The S&P 500 index earlier closed at a record and the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000. Treasury yields dipped, oil held above $45 a barrel and copper touched the highest since 2014.

Positive vaccine news as well as the formal start of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to power — including the selection of Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary — have fueled optimism about the outlook. At the same time, restrictions to curb surging coronavirus infections threaten to impede the global economic recovery. The MSCI gauge of global shares remains up about 13% in November, set for the best month since it began in 1988.

Next up Wednesday comes a slew of US economic indicators, from jobless claims to readings on consumer confidence and personal income. Minutes of the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting are also due.

“Now, there’s big event risk up ahead: FOMC minutes,” said Ilya Spivak, head Asia-Pacific strategist at DailyFX. “So markets don’t seem keen on follow-through. The worry is that the Fed will continue to signal that they’re keeping to a hands-off posture. No tightening, but no new easing either.”

Elsewhere, Bitcoin retreated after topping $19,000. In Europe, bank stocks will be in focus after a report that eurozone banks may be able to resume dividend payments next year if their balance sheets are strong enough to survive the pandemic.

Here are some key events coming up:

• Minutes of the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due Wednesday.
• US jobless claims, GDP and personal spending data come Wednesday.
• UK Chancellor of the Exchequer will lay out spending plan on Wednesday.
• Thursday sees a policy decision and briefing from the Bank of Korea.
• US celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
• The week ends with Black Friday, the traditional start of the US holiday shopping season.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 Index futures added 0.1% as of 7:06 a.m. in London. The gauge rose 1.6% on Tuesday.
• Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.3%.
• Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%.
• Shanghai Composite Index dipped 1.2%.
• South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.6%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures advanced 0.2%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1%.
• The euro bought $1.1898.
• The yen was at 104.51 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan traded at 6.5827 per dollar, down 0.1%.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped to 0.87%.
• Australia’s 10-year yield climbed about four basis points to 0.93%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $45.16 a barrel.
• Gold was at $1,806 an ounce, down 0.1%.