Global stock markets gained for a second day on Tuesday, spurred by increased optimism about economic stimulus and global recovery, while retail investors retreated from GameStop and their new-found interest in silver, Reuters informed.
Positive momentum from Asia carried through to Europe, with the pan-European STOXX 600 edging up 0.9%.
Shares in BP lost 3.8% after it plunged to a $5.7 billion loss last year, its first in a decade.
MSCI’s world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was 0.4% firmer after posting its strongest day in three months on Monday.
MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 1.5%, with China’s benchmark CSI300 Index climbing 1.5%, helped by easing concerns about tight liquidity and falling cases of new coronavirus infections. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1%.
Markets were buoyant ahead of negotiations Tuesday between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican senators on a new COVID support bill. The GOP’s $618bn stimulus plan released early Monday was about a third the size of the President’s proposal. Top Democrats later on Monday filed a joint $1.9 trillion budget measure in a step toward bypassing Republicans.
“If you have the ability to have stimulus compromise it’s going to be very supportive for financial assets in the medium term as it means you will have the ability to have an economic recovery,” said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime Partners. “The $1.9 trillion was set as a high bar of the possibilities and in a way to get into a negotiation to get something that would be smaller and more efficient.”
The dollar hovered near a seven-week high, benefiting from a euro selloff overnight after coronavirus lockdowns choked consumer spending in Germany, and on short-covering in over-crowded dollar-selling positions.
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