Global Stocks Subdued Ahead of Long Weekend
April 09 2020 - 1:16AM
Dow Jones News
By Chong Koh Ping
Global stocks mostly traded sideways Thursday, as investors
looked toward a gradual economic recovery in the second half of the
year, with signs that the spread of the new coronavirus could be
slowing in some of the hardest-hit areas.
By late morning in Hong Kong, stock benchmarks in Tokyo,
Shanghai and Hong Kong had risen or fallen less than 0.5%. S&P
500 futures were little changed. South Korea's Kospi Composite and
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose between 1% and 2%. Many of the
world's stock markets will be closed Friday for public
holidays.
"There's some early optimism that we are about to see the
[coronavirus] outbreak in the U.S. and Europe reaching a peak,"
said Eli Lee, head of investment strategy at Bank of Singapore.
He said such optimism is based on the premise that the strict
containment measures that have stalled economies globally will be
lifted this summer. Since late March, Mr. Lee has tweaked his
advice to clients, recommending they increase their relative
holdings of stocks in mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore. But
he said investors should still prioritize holding a good amount of
cash given volatile market conditions.
Globally, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases was nearly
1.5 million, with more than 88,400 deaths, according to data
compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The disease it causes, known
as Covid-19, has killed more than 14,800 people in the U.S. in
slightly over a month.
Mr. Lee said the risk of second or subsequent waves of
infections would bear watching as this could prolong containment
measures, leading to a longer recession than expected. "Investors
are not putting the risk of a resurgence on the top of their minds
right now," he said.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 0.752%,
after settling at 0.770% in the previous session. Bond yields fall
as prices rise.
Brent crude, the global gauge of crude prices, retreated 2.4% to
$33.63. This week, oil futures have rallied but the price of actual
barrels has lagged significantly behind, a sign that global demand
has slumped amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P
500 both rose 3.4% and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.6%. Stocks have
swung wildly in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 climbing 11% so
far this week. That puts it on pace for its largest one-week
percentage gain since March 2009, but the index is still down 15%
in 2020.
Write to Chong Koh Ping at chong.kohping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 09, 2020 01:01 ET (05:01 GMT)
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