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Bloomberg
Stocks rise in Europe and Asia on Wednesday as investors continued a rotation into cyclical industries at the expense of technology shares. Crude oil rises.
Gains in travel, energy and consumer stocks pulled the Stoxx Europe 600 Index higher at the open. Tech shares underperformed, including Dutch
Internet provider Prosus NV and equities in Japan, Korea and Australia climbed more than 1%.
The picture was brighter for US shares. Nasdaq 100 futures edged higher along with contracts on the S&P 500, whose underlying benchmark pulled back from a two-month closing high.
Since Monday’s ebullient vaccine-driven stock rally, investors have become more sober about the realities of delivering the shot to billions of people. Meanwhile, the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden may be a rocky one with President Donald Trump still challenging the election results.
“It’s clear that we are getting a lot of rotation, but the actual roll out of vaccines is going to take months,†Patrik Schowitz, global multi-asset strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said on Bloomberg TV. “Sure, markets are going to price that in well ahead of the actual things happening in the real economy and on the ground. But we’ll get a first burst of rotation and after that it will slow down markedly.â€
Treasury futures were steady, with the cash market closed for a US holiday.
The coronavirus is roaring back in US cities, with hospitalisations in the country reaching a record and cases topping 1 million in the first 10 days of November. A public vaccination campaign could begin by spring, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.5% as of 8:29 am London time and Nasdaq 100 Index futures advanced 0.2%.
While futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.3%, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6%.
While the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed, the British pound climbed 0.1% to $1.3283 and the Japanese yen weakened 0.1% to 105.45 per dollar. New Zealand’s dollar gained 0.7% to $0.6876.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis points to 0.98% and the yield on 30-year Treasuries was
unchanged at 1.74%.
While Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.47%, Britain’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to 0.431%. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 2.4% to $42.36 a barrel and gold was little changed at $1,876.84 an ounce.
While soybeans climbed 1.1% to $11.59 a bushel, iron ore increased 1.7% to $121.15 per metric ton.