Asian stocks are at an all-time high, as earnings, an incentive to revive hope

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asian stocks hit their highest level Wednesday, as earnings, expectations of a major U.S. fiscal stimulus and advances in vaccines dampened hopes of a global recovery from the pandemic.

Japan’s MSCI Asian shares index rose 0.8%, rising above the peak in January to reach an all-time high.

On the mainland CSI300 in China rose 1.3% to a 13-year high and the Shanghai Composite hit a five-year high on the last trading day before the lunar new year holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.1% gains while e-mini futures for the US S&P 500 rose 0.35%.

Physical employment has outpaced expectations in many places including the United States and Japan.

In the most recent example, shares of Lyft Inc rose as much as 11.8% while Twitter Inc rose 3.5% in aftermarket sales to its latest quarterly results.

“Globally investors are taking stock pressure as the Biden administration is likely to be motivated to spend nearly $ 1.9 trillion,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategy at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

While U.S. President Joe Biden’s stimulus package is against Republicans, his fellow Democrats last year agreed a budget summary that will allow them to boost the stimulus through the coming weeks without Republican support.

On Wall Street, major stock indexes remained small on Tuesday, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite released a record high on a 0.14% gain. The S&P 500 lost 0.11%.

The S&P had climbed the previous six sessions and is up 5.3% for the month, backed by a large U.S. relief package.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury benchmark notes last year was at 1.16%, not far from Monday’s 10 1/2-month high of 1.20%.

Higher bond yields also reflect expectations of rising inflation, with flat inflation measured from Finance under inflation protection rising to 2.20 per cent, the highest level since 2014.

The Fed has said it would accept inflation rising above 2% for some time.

U.S. inflation data, due later Wednesday, is expected to show a 1.5% annual rise in core CPI.

In the currency market, the dollar was trading near two-week levels against a basket of currencies after a sharp fall in previous trading.

The dollar traded at 104.55 yen after falling 0.64% on Tuesday, the highest in three months, while the euro changed hands at $ 1.2119, extending its rebound from a two-month low of $ 1.1952 on Friday.

The British pound held steady at $ 1.3822, hitting a record high of April 2018.

The offshore Chinese Yuan held steady at 6.4185 to the dollar, within a view of the 2 1/2-year level of 6.4119 set on January 5th.

Bitcoin, which gained 19.5% on Monday, changed little at $ 46,292, not far from the high of $ 48,216 set Tuesday.

Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency, hit a record high of $ 1,826.

Gold spot added 0.3% to $ 1,842.8 an ounce after rising to a week-high high Tuesday.

Brent oil held firm at $ 61.03 a barrel, close to 13-month highs after a seven-day winning streak as investors predict rising fuel demand while OPEC and affiliated producers hold on top of supply .

“With Brent over $ 60, he’s been incredibly good psychologically,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. “Everyone is feeling bullish about stronger demand and a further decline in global investments.”