Asian stocks and U.S. equity futures rose Tuesday on wagers that vaccines can help tame the omicron virus outbreak and signs that President Joe Biden could yet revive his $2 trillion economic agenda.
MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific share gauge snapped a two-session drop, bolstered by a rebound in Japan and a rally in Chinese property developers. S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and European contracts were in the green, signaling stabilization after a global equity index dropped the most this month on Monday.
Treasury yields and the dollar were little changed, while commodity-linked currencies stabilized. Crude oil and iron ore pushed higher. In digital assets, Bitcoin rallied to climb past the $48,500 level.
Turkey’s lira slipped in Asian trading, trimming some of Monday’s surge sparked by extraordinary government measures to bolster the currency.
Investors are trying to evaluate to what extent the omicron flareup will disrupt global economic reopening and parsing the U.S. fiscal stimulus outlook.
Those risks, along with tightening monetary policy, have whipsawed markets of late.
“There is more uncertainty than I think most people thought we would see here as they were anticipating a Santa Claus rally,” Victoria Fernandez, Crossmark Global Investments chief market strategist, said on Bloomberg Television.
“Volatility and uncertainty are the key terms that will lead us into the new year.”
