LONDON: US and European futures edged up after a lackluster Asian session that left global equities shuffling toward a weekly advance.
Lower-than-usual trading volumes late this week have preceded a welter of options expiries on Wall Street Friday that could still see a bout of volatility. While global shares have recouped much of their losses trigged by second-wave infection fears, the dollar and Treasuries have retained much of their gains from that risk-off bout. Elsewhere, crude oil saw a modest rise.
Investors continue to weigh a resurgence in some virus hotspots that may derail an economic recovery against record stimulus measures to help stave off the worst of the pandemic’s impact. New cases in Florida were above the past week’s average and Texas hospitalizations rose by another record.
Meanwhile, Sino-American tensions continue to simmer — President Donald Trump said the U.S. could pursue a “complete decoupling from China” in response to unspecified conditions.
“No one at this point, analysts, companies, strategists, portfolio managers, has a great sense for what earnings will be in 2020 or in 2021,” Kate Moore, head of thematic strategy at BlackRock Inc., said on Bloomberg TV. “We are experiencing a lot of dislocations in the economy and consumption patterns and it is pretty difficult to predict.”
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 advanced 0.4% as of 7:13 a.m. in London. The index rose 0.1% on Thursday.
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.4%.
- MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%.
Currencies
- The yen was at 106.87 per dollar, little changed.
- The offshore yuan traded flat at 7.0796 per dollar.
- The euro bought $1.1214, little changed.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasury yields dipped to 0.70%.
- Australia’s 10-year yield fell two basis points, to 0.86%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $39.27 a barrel.
- Gold was up 0.3% at $1,729 an ounce.
