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Sydney - Global equities rose, as stocks from Hong Kong to Europe rallied and technology stocks rebounded after their biggest weekly selloff of the year. The yen fell with oil and gold.
The Stoxx Europe 600 jumped the most since April, while Samsung Electronics led gains among tech shares in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Hong Kong stocks surged before a decision on whether MSCI will include China shares in global indices.
The euro was steady as talks begin on the UK’s split from the European Union. The yen slumped against all its major peers, while oil and gold resumed declines.
Global equities are climbing back after a technology-sector selloff last week sparked by concerns about low volatility among the largest US companies.
Trading volumes were the highest since mid-March as poor housing data and a drop in consumer sentiment added to signs the American economy’s growth rate may be slower than forecast. That’s keeping bond yields down amid a subdued pace of inflation that’s sowed doubts about the Federal Reserve’s planned trajectory for monetary tightening.
Almost a year since Britons voted to leave the European Union, Brexit talks finally open on Monday amid confusion over just what the UK government wants from the divorce. Political wrangling in Washington took another turn over the weekend.
US President Donald Trump isn’t under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, a member of the president’s legal team said, despite Trump’s repeated comments on social media that he’s the target of a “witch hunt.”
Here are some of the key upcoming events:
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley are both due to speak in New York on Monday. They are the first of a slew of Fed appearances scheduled for this week including Vice chairperson Stanley Fischer and Governor Jerome Powell. MSCI announces whether it approved Chinese-listed stocks in its global benchmarks.
The $6.8trn onshore market is the world’s second-largest and accounts for 9% of global stock value, but has been rejected for index inclusion three times by MSCI over issues including capital controls and long trading halts. MSCI’s decision is expected on Tuesday after the close of US markets.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 jumped 0.8% as of 09:11, led by banking shares, after falling 0.5% last week. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.5%. Samsung rose 2.2%, while Foxconn Technology soared 6%, the most since September. Tencent, which lost 1.7% last week, climbed 1.7%.
Japan’s Topix index jumped 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5%. Woolworths fell 3.5%, the most since September, as it joined a slump in global grocery companies after Amazon.com’s decision to buy Whole Foods Market in the US Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.2%, after its first weekly decline in six weeks.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped 1.5%, the most since May 25. The Shanghai Composite advanced 0.7%. Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.3% after the underlying gauge posted a 0.1% advance last week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased less than 0.1%. The yen declined 0.2% to 111.12 per dollar. The Australian dollar retreated less than 0.1% from the highest level since the end of March.
The Korean won climbed 0.1%, after dropping 0.9% on Friday. The pound was flat at $1.2783. The euro was little changed as French President Emmanuel Macron’s party was poised to win the biggest majority in 15 years. The voter turnout was only about 44%.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 2.16%. Australian benchmark yields were flat at 2.41%. UK 10-year yields rose two basis points to 1.04%, while those in Germany rose one basis point.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 0.5% to $44.54 a barrel, near the lowest level since November. Gold slipped 0.1% to $1 251.95 an ounce, heading for an eighth decline in nine sessions.
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