Stocks extend advance after Wall Street hit record high

BLOOMBERG

European stocks and US futures rose, extending the rally in global equities that pushed the S&P 500 Index to a record-high Friday. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index climbed 0.8% in early trading on Monday, with banking, real estate and tech stocks among those leading the advance.
Tech shares led gains in US futures contracts after the S&P 500 rose beyond 4,800 last week amid optimism over expected Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and the artificial-intelligence boom.
Chinese stocks bucked the trend as pessimism over the nation’s faltering recovery fuelled further losses. After hitting a low in October 2022, the S&P 500 has surged about 35% and topped its previous closing high of 4,796.56. The gauge became the last of the three major US equity benchmarks to close at a record.
“We are heading into environment where the economic slowdown seems to be more of a soft landing, at the same time we are talking about rate cuts,” said Jun Bei Liu, a fund manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney. “All of that together does look pretty positive for the equity market.” In M&A news on Monday, Kindred Group Plc jumped 19% after La Francaise des Jeux SA offered to buy the Swedish company for 27.95 billion kronor ($2.7 billion) in a move that will further consolidate the online gambling industry in Europe.
The dollar and US Treasuries were steady. Benchmark notes had gained as a “Fed-friendly” survey from the University of Michigan showed a mix of high consumer confidence and lower inflation
expectations. Investor attention later this week shifts to the Bank of Japan, which is overwhelmingly forecast to leave its settings unchanged on Tuesday when it announces the results of its gathering. Thursday sees a first estimate of US fourth-quarter GDP and a rates decision from the European Central Bank. In Asian trading on Monday, the region’s benchmark stock index erased earlier gains as the Hang Seng Index dropped 3% and the key indexes in mainland China fell. China’s commercial lenders kept their benchmark lending rates unchanged on Monday, in line with the central bank’s decision to refrain from cutting borrowing costs. The current low valuations in Chinese stocks aren’t enough to encourage investors to jump back into the markets, said Vasu Menon, investment strategy managing director at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp in Singapore. Bear Market Takes HSI to Throwback Levels. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.8% in London. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.5%
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed. The euro was little changed at $1.0893. The Japanese yen was little changed at 148.08 per dollar. The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2035 per dollar. The British pound was little changed at $1.2696 Bitcoin fell 2% to $40,937.25. Ether fell 2.5% to $2,410.73.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.12%. Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.30%. Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 3.89%. Brent crude fell 0.5% to $78.20 a barrel. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,022.99 an ounce.