U.S. stocks look poised to extend last week’s advance as investors bet on the strength of the economic recovery, despite rising virus infection rates.
Gold neared a seven-year high, while the dollar weakened. European stocks slumped, with Wirecard AG in freefall after more than $2 billion in assets went missing. The yield on Germany’s 30-year government debt fell below zero for the first time since May. Crude oil hovered below $40 a barrel in New York.
There are increasing signs that the virus is continuing to rapidly spread as governments work to reopen their economies. Cases of the deadly virus rose by a record for a single day on June 21, according to the World Health Organization, with flare ups across the U.S. and new scares in Germany and Australia.
But investors are wagering that policymakers will be unwilling to stop business activity or slow progress toward a economic recovery. In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing to relax social distancing rules in a major boost to the hospitality industry.
At the same time, risk appetite is being supported by historic stimulus programs by central banks around the world. Equity markets have steadied in recent weeks and the S&P 500 is within 10% of its pre-pandemic peak.
“The market doesn’t believe that we will see such draconian lockdowns even if there is a resurgence of the virus. The politics have moved on,” said James Athey, a money manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments. “Rightly or wrongly, there’s also a pretty widespread feeling that riskier assets won’t go down too far because the Federal Reserve won’t let them.”
In Turkey, the benchmark equities index erased its 2020 losses, lifted in a rally driven mostly by a wave of buying from local investors.
Here are some key events coming up:
MSCI Inc. on Tuesday announces its market classification review for 2020.The IMF will release new 2020 growth projections on Wednesday.U.S. jobless claims, durable goods and GDP data are due Thursday.A rebalance of Russell indexes is due on Friday.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.5% as of 7:11 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.6%.The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index was down 0.3%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.2%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.6% to 1,001.36.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.1% to 1,218.70.The euro climbed 0.3% to $1.1210.The British pound jumped 0.3% to $1.2383.The onshore yuan weakened 0.1% to 7.076 per dollar.The Japanese yen was little changed 0.1% to 106.89 per dollar
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped less than one basis point to 0.69%.The yield on two-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 0.19%.Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis point to -0.44%.Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.21%.Japan’s 10-year yield sank one basis point to 0.01%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $39.54 a barrel.Brent crude was little changed at $42.18 a barrel.Gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,748.11 an ounce.