By 
Bloomberg
Stocks, Futures Rise After Fed Inflation Comments: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks and U.S. equity futures rose Tuesday after technology shares spurred a Wall Street rally amid soothing Federal Reserve comments on inflation. Bitcoin trimmed a bounce from last week’s slump.An MSCI Inc. index of Asia-Pacific equities was set for a fourth straight advance, with Hong Kong and China outperforming. European and U.S futures edged up after the S&P 500 climbed and the Nasdaq 100 outperformed amid a jump in Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. Bitcoin pared a rally stoked partly by Elon Musk’s support for an effort to improve its green credentials.The Fed comments aided sentiment, as officials reiterated they expect transitory rather than lasting price pressures from the U.S. economic rebound. Treasury yields were stable following a retreat and the dollar slipped.Oil held an advance after Iran said that gaps remain in negotiations aimed at reaching a deal to end U.S. sanctions on its crude. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index rose the most in about a week.Fed officials Lael Brainard, Raphael Bostic and James Bullard said they wouldn’t be surprised to see bottlenecks and supply shortages push prices up in coming months as the pandemic recedes, but that much of those gains should be temporary. While market-based measures of inflation expectations have dipped, investors remain cautious about the risk of a pullback in stimulus. They are also monitoring Covid-19 spikes in regions such as Asia.“Inflation is a key focus for investors, meaning uncertainty over what happens to interest rates,” Chris Iggo, chief investment officer of core investments at AXA Investment Managers, wrote in a note. “Yield curves have stabilized, but it is not clear that renewed inflation concerns automatically mean steeper curves.”Here are some events this week:Bank of Indonesia rate decision Tuesday, Reserve Bank of New Zealand policy decision Wednesday, Bank of Korea rate decision Thursday.CEOs of the largest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, will testify before lawmakers in the Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees Wednesday.U.S. initial jobless claims, GDP, durable goods, pending home sales on Thursday.These are some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 1:28 p.m. in Tokyo. The index added 1%.Nasdaq 100 contracts rose 0.2%. The gauge added 1.7%Japan’s Topix index climbed 0.2%Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.6%South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 0.6%Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.3%China’s Shanghai Composite index gained 1.6%Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changedCurrenciesThe yen was at 108.74 per dollarThe offshore yuan traded at 6.4065 per dollarThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1%The euro was at $1.2228BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 1.60%Australia’s 10-year bond yield was steady at 1.70%CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $66.32 a barrelGold dipped 0.1% to $1,878.92 an ounceMore stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Comments