US stocks rebound from bear brink; crude rallies

Bloomberg

US stocks rebounded from the worst-ever pre-Christmas session as investors hoped for an end to the turmoil in American markets.
The S&P 500 halted a four-day rout of almost 8 percent, clawing back from the brink of a bear market on speculation the selling had gone too far given a relatively robust economy. Amazon surged after
providing a reminder that the consumer remains strong by reporting record holiday sales. Banks weighed, turning lower for the 14th drop in 15 sessions.
Crude surged, the greenback was slightly stronger versus its major peers and Treasuries slipped. Exchanges throughout Europe remained closed for the holiday.
The stock rebound is a rare bright spot in one of the most miserable Decembers on record for equity investors, as a host of headwinds combined to drag down America’s benchmark index. Year-end and Christmas disruption have arrived just as fears of a global slowdown and personnel churn in the US administration sap confidence.
In the latest installment of America’s policy-making saga, traders are weighing Trump’s expressions of confidence in Steven Mnuchin against recent reports the Treasury secretary’s job is in jeopardy.
“These are incredibly tricky markets to decipher, as the outsized moves are not reflective of the current US economic landscape,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at Oanda Corp. in Singapore. “But that seems to matter little so far, as fear mongering continues to permeate every pocket of global capital markets.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Japanese equities closed higher on a wave of late buying
after fluctuating throughout the day. Korean shares tumbled after a holiday, and Shanghai stocks fell for a second day. Markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed.
West Texas Intermediate crude rebounded to trade above $44 a barrel. The offshore yuan was little changed after China released new rules promising to treat all companies equally, the latest positive step on the trade and investment front since further US and Chinese tariff hikes were paused.
The S&P 500 Index jumped 1.1 percent in New York, the largest climb in three weeks. The Nasdaq 100 surged 1.8 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent, the first advance in a week and
the biggest rise in a week. The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.5 percent, hitting the lowest in eight weeks with its fifth straight decline. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 1.7 percent at $43.27 a barrel.

Asia sees $5.6trn stock loss
Bloomberg

With few days of Asia equity trading left for the year and low volumes across the board, traders don’t seem to be taking any chances.
About $5.6 trillion of equity value has been obliterated in the region this year as the global carnage shows no let-up. And investors are bracing for volatile days ahead.
“The direly weak sentiment continues to be the engine behind the declines for markets that have yet to find the panacea in the form of any positive impetus,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist for IG Asia Pte. “The weight that is given to President Trump’s assurances is simply much lighter than the threats he is throwing.”