Global shares reach record high
Global shares reached record highs on Wednesday after the Dow Jones broke 30,000, with investors relieved at the prospect of a smooth handover of power after the U.S. presidential election and confident a COVID-19 vaccine would soon be ready.
President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced his foreign policy and national security team after President Donald Trump cleared the way to prepare for the start of his administration. Reports that Biden planned to nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, potentially easing the passage of a fiscal stimulus package to counter COVID- 19 damage, also cheered markets. The renewed demand for shares pushed MSCI’s broadest gauge of world stocks to a record high of 622.12. It was last up 0.1%
European shares held steady near nine-month highs on Wednesday as a relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in the region and growing hopes that a vaccine would soon be ready kept sentiment afloat. The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged up 0.3%, with banking stocks rising 1.6% after a report suggested that the European Central Bank could signal a lift on a ban on bank dividends next year.
Germany and the four nations of the United Kingdom unveiled plans to allow gatherings with limitations for Christmas, while France will start easing its lockdown this weekend after a sharp drop in new infections and hospitalizations.
Amid the improved outlook, investors bet that forthcoming virus vaccines would ease the pain of industries hit hardest by the pandemic, from tourism to energy.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei earlier rose to a 29- year high. MSCI’s index of Asia- Pacific shares outside Japan traded down 0.2% as Chinese shares were capped by worries about rising debt defaults.
Global energy shares have risen almost 34% so far this month, on track for their best month on record as crude prices rally. Oil prices held near their highest levels since March on the improved global economic outlook. Brent futures were up 1.3% to $48.48 per barrel, touching a high last seen in March.