The bond selloff continued Monday as Treasury yields climbed and sovereign debt in Australia and New Zealand slid on concerns about faster inflation, tempering stock market optimism from positive vaccine news.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields climbed to the highest in about a year. A gauge of Asian stocks edged lower, erasing earlier gains amid a surge in metals that could fan price pressures. Japanese shares outperformed while other key markets lagged. S&P 500 and European futures dipped after the U.S. index slipped Friday.
Copper hit the highest in more than nine years in a sign of optimism about the global recovery. Crude oil climbed to $60 a barrel as the market assessed the fallout from the big freeze across Texas. Bitcoin notched another record over the weekend, spurring a rally in the shares of Asian cryptocurrency stocks.
Sovereign bonds have slid on expectations vaccines and more fiscal stimulus will spur a global economic rebound and fan inflation. In Israel, the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE Covid-19 shot appeared to stop the vast majority of recipients from infection. Progress against the disease has aided stock and commodity markets this year, but investors are also asking whether the reflation trade will drive up yields to a point that eventually hurts risk appetite.
“We are still in a risk-on environment,” Adrian Zuercher, head of global asset allocation at UBS Wealth Management, said on Bloomberg TV. “Everybody is playing out the outlook for better economic growth, the outlook for more fiscal stimulus. It’s normal that nominal yields are trending higher, equities are also trading high, and also commodities based on a better economic outlook.”
Read: Inflation Angst Is About to Rewrite the Stock Market Playbook
U.S. lawmakers are also expected to make progress on a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, and President Joe Biden’s administration may unveil a multitrillion-dollar recovery package in March centered on infrastructure.
In Australia, the central bank resumed purchases of three-year securities to defend its yield target. Benchmark bonds also fell in New Zealand, whose currency was boosted by a sovereign credit-rating upgrade before paring the advance.
Some key events to watch this week:
Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivers the central bank’s semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.EIA crude oil inventory report is out Wednesday.Bank of Korea monetary policy decision is out Thursday.Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 will meet virtually Friday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be among the attendees.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% as of 5:50 a.m. in London. The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% Friday.Japan’s Topix index rose 0.6%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.2%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.2%.Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.4%.
Currencies
The yen was at 105.65 per dollar, down 0.2%.The offshore yuan was at 6.4624 per dollar, down 0.1%.The euro was at $1.2121.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose about five basis points to 1.38%.Australia’s 10-year bond yield rose 17 basis points to 1.60%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.4% to $60.05 a barrel.Gold rose 0.3% $1,788.76 an ounce.
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