Stocks advance to another record; oil up on cold snap

Bloomberg

Stocks rise as the vaccine rollout and slowing virus outbreaks spurred bets on a global recovery. West Texas Intermediate crude topped $60 a barrel amid an arctic freeze in parts of the US.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index climbed, led by banks and commodity shares. South Korean and Japanese shares led Asia higher.
US markets are shut for Presidents’ Day, while exchanges in China and Hong Kong are also closed on Monday. Treasury futures dipped in Asian trading, and Australian bonds slumped after US yields jumped. The pound reached the highest since April 2018. Bitcoin slipped after a weekend rally that took the cryptocurrency to a record of almost $50,000.
The reflation trade remains alive and well: global equities are on course to rise for 11 straight sessions, and the Treasury yield curve has tested the steepest levels in more than five years. Investors are banking on US government spending and the coronavirus vaccine rollout to boost the economic recovery, though new variants are threatening to temper the outlook.
“The reflation trade is set to continue to gather steam with vaccine deployment and massive fiscal spending by the Biden administration,” said Esty Dwek, head of global market strategy for Natixis Investment Managers Solutions. “Yields are likely to rise further and the catch-up of cyclical sectors should
continue.”
On the coronavirus front, the pace of the US outbreak continued to ease as the country’s week-to-week average rates fall to its lowest in almost four months. Japan, Singapore and Thailand all reported stronger-than-expected gross domestic product data, bolstering hopes for the recovery from the
coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, euro-area finance ministers will discuss the bloc’s current economic situation and outlook on Tuesday.
S&P 500 futures rise 0.3% as of 8:07 am in London and the S&P 500 advanced 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi index climbed as much as 1.5%.
While the yen falls 0.2% to 105.11 per dollar, the euro bought $1.2135, up 0.1%.
The offshore yuan rises 0.2% to 6.4065 per dollar and the pound gained 0.3% to $1.3890. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index falls 0.1%.
Australia’s 10-year yield jumped to 1.32% and the yield on 10-year Treasuries gained about four basis points to as much as 1.21%.
While West Texas Intermediate crude rise 2.2% to $60.77 a barrel, gold dipped 0.3% to $1,820 an ounce.