U.S. Futures, Asian Stocks Head Higher; Oil Gains: Markets Wrap – Yahoo Canada Finance

(Bloomberg) — U.S. futures and stocks in Asia rose Tuesday, with a few markets closed for holidays, as a number of economies move toward easing lockdowns. Crude oil gained for a fifth consecutive day.

S&P 500 futures climbed after the index staged a turnaround late Monday to end firmer as California sounded a note of optimism in its fight against the virus. Stocks outperformed in Australia and also rose in Singapore. Hong Kong was up, even after a record drop in GDP. Markets are closed in Japan, China and South Korea. The Aussie pared gains after the Reserve Bank of Australia left rates unchanged. West Texas oil extended gains. Treasuries won’t trade until London opens.

Global stocks remain on shaky ground as U.S.-China discord flared again. Investors are weighing fears of a second wave of infections and a steady stream of bad economic data against efforts by many countries to start easing lockdown restrictions.

“That feedback from the economic data is unlikely to show signs of improvement at least until Q3,” Jingyi Pan, IG Asia Market Strategist, said on Bloomberg TV, adding that they are advising clients to position more defensively. “At this point in time, the market is really riding on these reopening expectations.”

As global deaths from the pandemic topped 251,000, California, the first state to shut down its economy over Covid-19, will start loosening its lockdown on Friday. Italy began to reopen its economy after two months, but the premier’s plan was criticized for being too cautious. Spain started to relax its lockdown regime after weeks of confinement. Hong Kong’s leader said the city may relax virus restrictions “soon.”

Earnings roll on this week, with firms including Walt Disney Co., BMW, and Air France-KLM scheduled to report.

Here are some key events coming up:

Regional Federal Reserve chiefs are due to speak, including Charles Evans and James Bullard.The Bank of England has a policy decision on Thursday.Friday brings the U.S. jobs report for April, expected to show a severe impact from the pandemic. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists calls for a 21 million plunge in payrolls.

These are some of the major moves in financial markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures gained 0.7% as of 12:20 p.m. in Hong Kong. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.4%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.3%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.5%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures gained 1.5%.

Currencies

The Japanese yen was at 106.63 per dollar, up 0.1%.The euro was at $1.0903.The British pound traded at $1.2464, up 0.2%.China’s offshore yuan was up 0.2% at 7.1180 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points Monday, to 0.63%.Australia’s 10-year bond yield rose more than three basis points to 0.87%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 7% to $21.81 a barrel.Gold slipped 0.2% to $1,698.58 an ounce.

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