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Global stocks advance after Trump signs US$900b aid package

Published:Tuesday | December 29, 2020 | 12:07 AM
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US President Donald Trump.
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US President Donald Trump.
Currency traders watch computer monitors near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday. Asian stock markets rose on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a US$900-bi
Currency traders watch computer monitors near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday. Asian stock markets rose on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a US$900-billion economic aid package, helping to reduce uncertainty as governments reimpose travel and business curbs in response to a new coronavirus variant.
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Global stock markets and US futures rose on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a US$900-billion economic aid package, helping to reduce uncertainty as governments reimpose travel and business curbs in response to a new coronavirus variant.

London and Frankfurt opened higher as traders returned to work following a three-day Christmas weekend. Shanghai and Tokyo also advanced.

Trump signed the measure, which also includes money for other government functions through to September, despite expressing frustration that US$600 payments to the public weren’t bigger. His signature, following last-minute objections, helped to clear away uncertainty as reinstated travel and business curbs threaten to weigh on global economic activity.

“The stimulus balloon will allow the markets to navigate better the number of new air pockets showing up on the radar due to the virus’s latest variant,” said Stephen Innes of Axi in a report.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.1 per cent to 6,502.11, and the DAX in Frankfurt advanced 1.2 per cent to 13,756.71. The CAC 40 in France gained 0.5 per cent to 5,548.55.

On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index was 0.6 per cent higher, and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 per cent.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 index rose 0.4 per cent in its last pre-Christmas trading day. The Dow added 0.2 per cent. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.3 per cent.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose less than 0.1 per cent to 3,397.29, while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.7 per cent to 26,854.03.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 0.3 per cent to 26,314.63 after e-commerce giant Alibaba Group announced it was expanding a share buyback from US$6 billion to US$10 billion.

Alibaba shares declined seven per cent following last week’s announcement of an anti-monopoly investigation and the suspension of the stock market debut of Ant Group, an online finance platform in which Alibaba owns a 33 per cent stake.

In Seoul, the Kospi rose less than 0.1 per cent to 2,808.60, while India’s Sensex added 0.8 per cent to 47,336.65.

Singapore and Jakarta advanced. Australian markets were closed.

Investors have been encouraged by the development of coronavirus vaccines but that optimism has been dented by the discovery of the more contagious variant.

On Monday, South Korea reported its first cases of the new variant in three people who arrived from Britain. Over the weekend, Japan also reported cases and reimposed limits on entry into the country by non-resident foreigners. It also said both Japanese and foreign residents would be required to show coronavirus test results on arrival and to observe quarantines.

In energy markets, benchmark US crude rose 21 cents to US$48.44 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract rose 11 cents to close at US$48.23. Brent crude, the basis for pricing international oils, advanced 18 cents to US$51.52 per barrel in London. It rose nine cents the previous session to US$51.29 a barrel.

AP