Global stocks reach record highs
Global stocks rose for the seventh straight day to reach a record high on Tuesday, while bitcoin hit a fresh peak of $48,000, extending gains after an endorsement from Tesla Inc. Robust corporate earnings, monetary and fiscal support from policymakers and prospects that pandemic vaccines could hasten a return to normal in the United States and other countries have all bolstered risk sentiment in recent days.
A record high close for Wall Street overnight gave Asian stocks the confidence to push on further, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.3%, led by Chinese blue chips, up 2.2%. That helped The MSCI All-Country World Index edge up 0.1% to its own record high, although early moves in Europe’s top indexes suggested further gains may be tougher to find, with Britain’s FTSE 100 flat on the day.
Futures for the S&P 500 were equally undecided, suggesting a quiet start to the U.S. trading day, although Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said he remained positive on the outlook.
In keeping with the risk-on sentiment, oil also hit 13-month highs, helped by rising optimism about a return in fuel demand, with Brent crude up 0.8%. Concern remained over the pace of vaccination, the efficacy of the vaccines against new strains of the COVID-19 virus and the damage being done to economies, including the impact on the dollar of a planned $1.9 trillion stimulus package.
In more volatile cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin pushed on from the prior day’s 20% rally to hit a high of $48,216.09, before edging off its highs to trade around $47,000.
Still underpinning the gains was a surprise announcement from Tesla Inc on Monday that it had invested around $1.5 billion in the virtual currency and expects to accept it as payment for its cars in the future.
This article was compiled by BOV Asset Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group. BOV Asset Management,TG Complex, Suite 2, Level 3, Brewery Str., Mriehel BKR 3000. Email: infoassetmanagement@bov.com Internet address: www.bovassetmanagement.com. BOV Asset Management is licensed by the MFSA.