WORLD stock markets hit record highs on Monday, the first trading day of the new year, as investors hoped the rollout of vaccines would ultimately lift a global economy decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese yuan surged nearly one percent against the dollar, while the greenback plumbed its lowest levels against a basket of peer currencies since April 2018. Bitcoin hovered above $32,000 on the back of a blistering 800 percent rally since mid-March.
European stocks opened higher, with Britain’s FTSE 100 gaining 1.75 percent, Germany’s DAX up 1.1 percent, Spain’s IBEX up 1.3 percent and Italy’s FTSE MIB rising 0.7 percent.
MSCI’s All-Country World Index, which tracks stocks across 49 countries, hit a record high and was up nearly half a percent on the day after the start of trading in London.
Asian stock markets also gained, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed early gains, falling 0.4 percent after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirmed the government was considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures as the coronavirus spreads.
Despite the optimism over vaccines, investors are still sounding caution over the path of the virus, which continues to spread amidst the discovery of a new strain.
“The virus retains the upper hand for a while longer,” said Karl Steiner, chief quantiative strategist at SEB, noting that vaccinations have had an uneven start, characterized by vaccine shortages, vaccine resistance and delays. (Reuters)
