Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks look poised to gain after surprisingly robust economic data helped propel U.S. indexes to records. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes declined.Futures pointed higher in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. U.S. contracts were steady after all-time highs for equity benchmarks overnight. Real estate, health care and technology shares led gains. The financial sector underperformed amid the slide in bond yields, even after Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. posted better-than-forecast trading revenue. The U.S. dollar fell for a fourth straight day.Traders suggested international concerns may have helped fuel the rally in Treasuries, with many investors caught positioned for higher yields. The ruble slid as the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on some Russian debt, individuals and entities in retaliation for alleged misconduct related to the SolarWinds hack and the U.S. election.Chinese data will be under the microscope on Friday. The nation is expected to report the highest quarterly economic growth since it began releasing such figures 30 years ago. But investors will need to look beyond that number to assess the state of the economy’s post-pandemic recovery.The latest U.S. numbers show consumer demand -- the engine of American growth -- boosting the recovery in the world’s largest economy, owing in large part to government stimulus. Positive data, along with confidence in the continued support of central banks and some upbeat corporate earnings reports, has helped push equities to all-time highs this week. The rally in government bonds highlights persistent risks, however, with some countries facing spikes in Covid-19 infections and setbacks in their vaccine rollout.The bond market’s surge is “one of the more confusing dynamics in markets” at the moment, said Michael Arone, investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “Part of it is that you saw the 10-year make a very rapid move over a very short period of time, so this could be a pause before it starts to move higher again.”Elsewhere, Bitcoin gained and Coinbase Global Inc. fell despite news that three funds at Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management bought shares at Wednesday’s debut of the digital-asset exchange. Oil held recent gains, and copper is on course for the best week in about two months.Some key events to watch this week:China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.These are some of the main moves in financial markets:StocksS&P 500 futures were flat as of 7:40 a.m. in Tokyo. The index rose 1.1% to an all-time peak.Nasdaq 100 futures were steady after the index gained 1.6%.Nikkei 225 futures added about 0.3%.S&P/ASX 200 futures were up 0.2%.Hang Seng futures rose 0.4% earlier.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady.The euro was at $1.1969.The Japanese yen was at 108.71.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 1.58%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.41 a barrel.Gold traded at $1764.05 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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