Global stock indices rose on Monday as the overall US reporting season gave investors a reason to start the week in an upbeat mood.
However, the bond market remained volatile as traders prepared for key central bank decisions later this week, when the Federal Reserve is expected to say it will start cutting support for the US economy.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.42%, Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4% and Dow Jones futures rose 0.45%, indicating a better start for US stock markets as the day opened.
https://exness-vietnam.asia/ reports that in Asia the Tokyo Nikkei 225 jumped 2.61% overnight after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida successfully won the country's general election, raising hopes of a big economic stimulus. China's CSI 300 index fell 0.37%.
In Europe, the continental Stoxx 600 index was up 0.6% in early trading.
Global equities hit record highs in the past two weeks on the back of a strong third-quarter reporting season, with equity investors turning a blind eye to fears of an economic slowdown.
"Right now, more companies in the S&P 500 are outperforming [earnings per share] estimates for the third quarter than average and outperforming estimates per share more than average," said John Butters, senior earnings analyst at financial data firm FactSet.
"The index is now the third highest annual earnings growth since the second quarter of 2010."
Reporting season continues this week with Berkshire Hathaway, Moderna and Airbnb among the companies due to report results.
However, investors remain concerned that the world's most powerful central banks may soon reduce the huge amounts of monetary stimulus that supported economies during the coronavirus crisis.
The Fed is due to unveil its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday and many expect it to announce that it will start cutting or scaling back its bond purchases by $120 billion a month.
Meanwhile, some investors believe rising inflationary pressures could prompt central banks to consider raising benchmark interest rates.
Traders are betting that the Bank of England will be the first major central bank to raise interest rates on Thursday.
Yields on short-term bonds, which are most affected by central bank policy, have risen sharply in recent weeks. Yields are moving inversely to prices.
The yield on three-year US Treasuries rose 2.2 basis points to 0.778% on Monday, up from around 0.32% in just one month.
However, longer-term bonds moved less sharply, indicating that investors in the bond market expect inflation and growth to slow down in the medium term. The 10-year US government bond yield rose by 2.1 basis points to 1.577%.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen decided on Sunday to allay concerns about the economy.
She told Bloomberg: "I think we're going to see a good, solid recovery. The unemployment rate has come down a lot and it's not at all like the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis."
In other markets, oil prices rose after falling slightly the previous week. Brent crude rose 0.93% to $84.47 a barrel and WTI crude rose 0.48% to $83.97 a barrel.
In the cryptocurrency world, bitcoin rose 1.7% to $62,034, slightly below the record high of $66,000 reached in October.
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