Asian shares set to finish 2020 at a record high, riskier currencies in favor

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MG News | December 31, 2020 at 09:40 AM GMT+05:00

December 31, 2020: Asian shares are set to end a tumultuous 2020 by hovering near record highs on Thursday while riskier currencies cruised near 2-1/2-year peaks, buoyed by hopes that COVID-19 vaccine rollouts will help the world beat the pandemic.

The upbeat mood, reflected in overnight gains on Wall Street, drubbed the "safe-haven" dollar and drove currencies such as the euro, sterling, the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar overnight to highs not seen in more than 2-1/2 years.

E-Mini S&P futures rose 0.11% to 3,728.5, while MSCI's gauge of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan was little changed at 661.76, a hair's breath from its record high of 661.80.

For the year, the MSCI index is up nearly 20%, outpacing a 15.5% gain in the U.S. S&P 500.

Australian shares lost 0.23% while the Japanese stock market is shut on Thursday.

Investors looking forward to a brighter 2021 will be eyeing China's official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index for December, due on Thursday at 0100 GMT.

Analysts expect the index to show China's factory sector growing at a solid pace in December as the world's second-largest economy steadily rebounds from the coronavirus crisis.

Still, some analysts warned that this year's heady gains in global stock markets could mean a lot less room for further appreciation in 2021.

"We'd say 80% of all the baseline good news expected in 2021 is already incorporated," analysts at DataTrek Research said in a note, adding that some "real surprises" would be needed next year for the U.S. stock market to rise another 10%.

For now, however, healthy risk appetites kept investors from the U.S. dollar.

The struggling dollar dropped 0.46% to 89.59 against a basket of currencies, plumbing a low not seen since April 2018.

A listless dollar helped the euro stand firm at a 32-month high of $1.2298. Sterling was also steady $1.3611, a level last seen in May 2018. The Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar also held their ground at their respective 32-month highs of $0.7665 and $0.7215.

A battered dollar also supported gold, with bullion prices up a touch at $1,894.225 an ounce.

Oil prices bucked the trend, however, retreating a shade as swelling year-over-year supply led some traders to view any economic recovery ahead to be gradual rather than swift.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude shed 0.02% to trade at $48.39, far below about $62 at the start of 2020.

Treasuries were little changed, with benchmark U.S. 10-year yields at 0.9264% and two-year yields at 0.1250%.

Reuters

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Name Price/Vol %Chg/NChg
KSE100 172,642.16
225.24M
-0.57%
-993.92
ALLSHR 104,658.41
715.45M
-0.71%
-746.89
KSE30 51,414.64
68.61M
-0.56%
-288.52
KMI30 246,107.08
95.44M
-0.57%
-1413.60
KMIALLSHR 67,826.46
385.67M
-0.56%
-379.57
BKTi 48,132.23
23.42M
-0.63%
-306.61
OGTi 35,082.07
7.07M
-0.26%
-91.25
Symbol Bid/Ask High/Low
Name Last High/Low Chg/%Chg
BITCOIN FUTURES 78,520.00 80,800.00
77,725.00
-1535.00
-1.92%
BRENT CRUDE 97.98 99.46
96.78
0.98
1.01%
RICHARDS BAY COAL MONTHLY 130.00 130.00
130.00
2.40
1.88%
ROTTERDAM COAL MONTHLY 140.00 0.00
0.00
2.25
1.63%
USD RBD PALM OLEIN 1,228.00 1,228.00
1,228.00
0.00
0.00%
CRUDE OIL - WTI 92.97 94.73
90.87
1.49
1.63%
SUGAR #11 WORLD 18.05 18.45
17.89
-0.02
-0.11%

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