Global shares edge back from record highs

Global shares edged further back from record highs on Tuesday as lofty sovereign bond yields and rising global COVID-19 cases had investors questioning high equity valuations.

European shares pulled back after hitting record highs a day earlier, as tobacco companies weighed on UK stocks and many regional indexes edged off pre-pandemic highs.

Shares of British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands and Swedish Match fell between 1.7% and 5.6% in early trading following a report the Biden administration was considering requiring tobacco companies to lower the nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold in the United States.

UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, Germany’s DAX was flat and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.3%. The pan-regional STOXX 600 index dropped 0.2% by 0707 GMT. The benchmark has hit a series of all-time highs this month after having climbed more than 10% so far in 2021.

That followed a mixed showing in Asian equity markets as MSCI’s broadest index of Asia

Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2%, close to its highest level since March. But Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2% on worries that the possible reintroduction of COVID-19 emergency measures in the country’s biggest cities would slow the economic recovery.

India reported 1,761 deaths from COVID-19 overnight, its highest daily toll, with large parts of the country now under lockdown, as the country battles a second wave.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was 0.1% weaker, slipping further back from record highs scaled on Monday.

The latest data from the United States has pointed to a robust recovery from the pandemic. U.S. homebuilding surged to nearly a 15-year high in March, showed data on Friday.

U.S. crude and Brent both gained more than 1%, with the former at $64.04 barrel, and the latter at $67.90 barrel. Three-month London copper traded just shy of its highest level since August 2011. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,769 per ounce.

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.