US and European equity futures climbed along with most Asian shares as investors took some comfort from further stimulus bill negotiations and the impending deployment of the first vaccine in the US.
The pound advanced after Brexit talks were extended past a Sunday deadline. SandP 500 futures gained about 0.5 per cent, with the first deliveries of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccine in the US due to arrive Monday morning.
Meantime, a bipartisan group of lawmakers will unveil a $908 billion pandemic relief bill the same day, although there is “no guarantee” Congress will pass it, a key negotiator said.
The dollar dipped and Treasury yields were steady. Sterling pared some early gains but remained firmer against the dollar.
The UK and European Union said they will continue talking about a trade agreement, raising hopes of a deal. In Asia, improving business confidence helped Japanese stocks rally to a more than two-year high earlier Monday. Elsewhere, the offshore yuan outperformed. Risk assets have begun the week positively, with global stocks looking to recover after their first week of losses in six. US lawmakers remain deadlocked in talks over further stimulus and the coronavirus continues to spread. While both sides are closer than ever to agreeing on a price tag -- coalescing around a $900 billion figure -- there’s no sign they can get a deal anytime soon.
The vaccine "is giving markets the ability to look past the valley," Andy Kapyrin, partner and director of research at Regentatlantic Capital, said on Bloomberg TV.
“Stocks pose a reasonable value proposition” relative to bonds, he said. West Texas Intermediate crude oil topped $47 a barrel amid optimism for a recovery in fuel demand. News of another tanker explosion in the Middle East also raised concerns over the region’s stability.
On the virus front, the head of the US government’s vaccination drive said as much as 80 per cent of the population could be given the shot by next summer, putting “herd immunity” within reach. – Bloomberg
