The dollar traded at its lowest in 2 1/2 years. S&P 500 Index futures edged up, while China led an advance in most Asian stocks in curtailed trading on the last day of 2020.
Chinese assets outperformed, with the offshore yuan strengthening to the highest since June 2018. A gauge of Chinese shares rose to the highest since June 2015. Stocks also climbed in Hong Kong and fell in Sydney. Markets in Japan and South Korea are shut. U.S. stocks climbed earlier, with small-cap shares outperforming. Volumes were light during the holiday week, with trading in S&P 500 shares about 25% below the 30-day average. Bitcoin extended its record-breaking rally to surpass $29,000 before pulling back.
Investors have pushed risk assets including stocks to sky-high valuations this year on expectations that widespread vaccine distribution in 2021 will reignite economic growth and boost corporate profits, and amid unprecedented stimulus. The MSCI World Index of global stocks is set to end the year at or near a record high, having risen about 14% in 2020 after surging almost 68% since its March low.
“Investors continue to weigh stimulus hopes against negative pandemic developments,” Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter, wrote to clients. “Markets have aggressively priced in a lot of positive resolution to these events (and more) in 2021.”
On the coronavirus front, global deaths from Covid-19 passed 1.8 million. Cities that had gone weeks without new infections, including Beijing and Melbourne, are now reporting clusters, and cases of the new, highly transmissible virus strain were identified in Singapore and California. China approved the country’s first coronavirus vaccine for general public use.
Elsewhere, Bloomberg’s dollar gauge ticked downward to its lowest since April 2018 as traders squared currency positions ahead of the year’s end amid thin liquidity. The pound held gains after the U.K. Parliament approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit trade deal. Gold is headed for its best year in a decade as the dollar slides.
Here are some key events coming up:
- U.S. initial jobless claims figures are published Thursday.
- Most global stock markets are closed Friday for New Year’s Day.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 Index futures rose 0.1% as of 2 p.m. in Sydney. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.1%.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.4%.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2%.
- Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8%. CSI 300 Index rose 0.9%.
Currencies
- The yen was at 103.20 per dollar.
- The offshore yuan traded at 6.5017 per dollar. It rose to 6.4886 per dollar earlier.
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady.
- The euro was at $1.2288, down 0.1%.
- The British pound was at $1.3614, down 0.1%.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped one basis point to 0.92% Wednesday. They won’t trade until London opens because of the holiday in Tokyo.
- Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell to 0.97%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $48.18 a barrel.
- Gold dipped 0.2% to $1,891.30 an ounce.
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December 31, 2020 at 05:00AM
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Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P Live Updates for Dec. 31, 2020 - Bloomberg
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