WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Asian markets are set to open higher on Friday as US stocks rose as investors weighed in on growth and inflation and welcomed progress on vaccines.
“Market sentiment remains quite volatile, and volatility by post-pandemic standards is remarkably low,” said IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda.
“At the moment – and indeed, this could be a level of satisfaction – the weekly stock agitation has been taken by leaps and bounds.”
Australian S & P / ASX 200 futures rose 0.30% on early trading, while MSCI’s worldwide stock gauge gained 0.14%.
Shares in emerging markets lost 0.77%. The largest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan closed down 0.55%, while Japanese Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.02%.
The Nikkei 225 index closed the overnight session up 1.14% at 28,729.88. The futures contract increased by 0.52% compared to this close. In the long run, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.37%.
US Labor Department data show that unemployment claims fell to a one-year low last week, a sign that the US economy is on the verge of growing stronger as public health improves and temperatures rise.
In his first official press conference, US President Joe Biden said he would double his administration’s vaccination launch plan after reaching the previous target of 100 million photos 42 days ahead of schedule.
On Wall Street, stocks closely linked to an economic recovery led to a recovery, while some continuing weaknesses between high-growth stocks and the shares of energy companies prevented the S&P 500 and other major indices from rising significantly.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 199.42 points, or 0.62%, to 32,619.48, the S&P 500 gained 20.38 points, or 0.52%, to 3,909.52, and Nasdaq Composite added 15 , 79 points, or 0.12%, at 12,977.68.
Oil fell after rising the day before, when a container ship was stranded in the Suez Canal. The ship can block the conveyor belt for weeks.
US crude oil fell 0.09% to $ 58.51 a barrel last time, and Brent was $ 61.84, down 3.99% that day.
Weighing sentiment was a claim of Chinese technology stocks, amid concerns here, they will be removed from US stock markets due to concerns about the lack of semiconductors.
Shares of Nike Inc. fell 3.4% as the sporting goods giant faced a Chinese social backlash over its comments on Xinjiang’s forced labor reports.
The dollar index reached its highest level since November overnight, at 92.697, reaching its 200-day moving average.
The dollar index rose 0.265% and the euro rose 0.05% to $ 1.177.
“The dollar is absolutely critical,” said James Athey, chief investment officer at Aberdeen Standard Investments. “If the dollar starts to rise, that becomes a problem. It means weakness of goods and weakness in the emerging market and is beginning to provide a compensatory disinflationary narrative. ”
10-year benchmarks rose last price to yield 1.6332% from 1.614% late Thursday.
Spot gold added 0.1% to $ 1,727.73 an ounce.
Reporting by Katanga Johnson; edited by Richard Pullin