European stocks are likely to open higher on Wednesday amid optimism that increased government spending around the world and concerted efforts to accelerate vaccine rollout will boost global growth.
The U.S. Senate took steps on Tuesday to open the door for Democrats to push through the Covid-19 rescue package on their own, but bipartisanship was absent.
The rollout of vaccines in many countries is gathering pace, with Russia announcing it would be able to vaccinate 700 million people with the Sputnik V coronavirus jab this year.
Mexico plans to import about 870,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine from India in February. Elsewhere, White House Covid coordinator Jeff Zients said that 6,500 pharmacies will receive 1 million doses starting next week.
Asian markets remain mostly higher after tech giants Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc reported better-than-expected earnings.
Chinese and Hong Kong markets were fluctuating as the People’s Bank of China drained some funds from the financial system and a private sector survey showed China’s services sector activity grew at its slowest pace in nine months in January.
The dollar held near two-month high against the euro while the U.S. Treasury yield curve continued to steepen in Asian trade amid signs that government around the world are poised to increase spending.
Oil extended gains after closing at the highest level in more than a year on expectations global oil stocks will fall back to more normal levels this year.
Flash consumer price data and final composite Purchasing Managers’ survey results are due from euro area later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.
Across the Atlantic, trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on private sector employment and service sector activity.
The Bank of England will unveil its monetary policy decision on Thursday, while the all-important U.S. payrolls report for January will be released on Friday.
U.S. stocks posted strong gains overnight as concerns over a speculative trading mania eased and investors kept a close watch on progress in stimulus talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both climbed around 1.6 percent, while the S&P 500 added 1.4 percent.
European markets rose for a second day running on Tuesday amid optimism about additional U.S. stimulus and a likely momentum in vaccination rollout.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 1.3 percent. The German DAX rallied 1.6 percent, France’s CAC 40 index surged 1.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 percent.
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