(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks rose with U.S. and European equity futures Wednesday as concerns over valuations eased and the focus turned back to the stimulus-fueled recovery from the pandemic. Treasury yields edged up.
Shares outperformed in Hong Kong and China and climbed in Australia, where data showed the economy maintained its rapid recovery in the final three months of 2020. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced after technology shares led overnight losses in the benchmarks. The dollar was steady.
Treasury yields had retreated Tuesday amid comments from Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard that bond-market volatility may further delay any pullback in the central bank’s asset purchases.
The V-shape recovery coming into sharp relief in Australia highlighted expectations for a global rebound that boosts earnings and supports the run up in stocks. At the same time, investors remain wary of a widespread jump in inflationary pressures that could shake confidence by undercutting pledges from central banks to keep monetary policy loose.
“Real yields are still pretty negative and it’s still really easy monetary policy,” said Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab. “As we normalize and move away from a market dominated by central banks and policy, to one that is more driven by supply and demand, there’s going to be bouts of volatility.”
The swings in fixed income that roiled markets last week have moderated, but the outlook for longer-term borrowing costs and real yields remains a major point of debate.
“If interest rates start moving higher and quicker than expected, then there’s a chance there might be more significant pullback in the market,” Katerina Simonetti, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management senior vice president, told Bloomberg TV.
Read: Guggenheim’s Minerd Says Treasury Yields Can Still Turn Negative
Elsewhere, oil rebounded after a three-day fall with the OPEC+ alliance said to be poised to agree an output increase at its meeting this week. Bitcoin rose back above $49,000.
There are some key events to watch this week:
U.S. Federal Reserve Beige Book is due Wednesday.OPEC+ meeting on output Thursday.U.S. factory orders, initial jobless claims and durable goods orders are due Thursday.The February U.S. employment report on Friday will provide an update on the speed and direction of the nation’s labor market recovery.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% as of 7:15 a.m. in London. The S&P 500 fell 0.8%.Japan’s Topix index rose 0.5%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.8%.South Korea’s Kospi index added 1.3%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.5%.Shanghai Composite added 2%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.5%.
Currencies
The yen was at 106.87 per dollar, down 0.2%.The offshore yuan traded at 6.4647 per dollar, up 0.2%.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro was at $1.2085.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose about two basis points to 1.41%.Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell five basis points to 1.68%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.5% to $60.06 a barrel.Gold shed 0.3% to $1,733.97 an ounce.
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