European stocks fluctuate with futures; dollar falls

Bloomberg

European stocks fluctuated with US equity futures as traders weighed concerns about the impact of rising coronavirus cases and braced for key US runoff elections. The dollar falls and gold held Monday’s gains.
Energy firms and retailers led the Stoxx 600 Index as the UK went back into lockdown in an attempt to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed. Next Plc surged 8% after holiday sales beat the company’s October guidance. S&P 500 contracts drifted after the benchmark suffered its worst drop at the start of a year since 2016, while Treasuries edged lower.
Shares in Hong Kong and China were bolstered by New York Stock Exchange’s surprise decision to scrap a plan to delist three big Chinese telecommunication firms. China’s CSI 300 Index closed above its 2015 bubble peak.
The run-off elections for two US Senate seats in Georgia are set to determine whether Democrats take effective control of Congress, which could boost their ability to implement President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda. Traders are weighing scenarios such as the possibility of greater US fiscal stimulus, higher taxes and more regulation if such a “blue wave” materialises.
“The Biden reflation trade could be back on,” ING Groep NV strategists led by Padhraic Garvey wrote in a note. “If granted greater power by a double Democratic victory today, the likelihood of the Biden administration enacting pro-growth policies, be it additional funding to vaccination programmes, fiscal support to households, and government investment, will rise.”
Oil was steady as Opec+ talks were unexpectedly suspended due to a disagreement over whether to raise output in February. Bitcoin steadied following a plunge of as much as 17% on Monday.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index were unchanged as of 8:50 amLondon time and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.2%.
While the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rises 0.5%, the MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.4%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index falls 0.1% and the euro rose 0.2% to $1.2271.
While the British pound dipped 0.1% to $1.356, the onshore yuan weakened 0.1% to 6.466 per dollar. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 102.93 per dollar.