Worries over lockdowns being reimposed and economies re-opening more slowly has hurt sentiment, as investors weigh reports of new daily records for infections. One of the highest increases yet in U.S. cases prompted Texas and Florida to halt their next reopening phases, while health leaders called on the U.K. to prepare for a possible second wave.
China remains shut Friday, while Hong Kong reopens after a holiday.
“The market is trying to digest what the timeline is, and also measuring monetary stimulus and future fiscal stimulus as well,” said Chad Morganlander, senior money manager at Washington Crossing Advisors. “There are a lot of unknowns but yet, we have to believe that the monetary backdrop as well as fiscal backdrop will support the market, so we’re a little bit more optimistic over the next 18-24 months.”
Elsewhere, oil prices rose after Russia slashed exports of its flagship crude Urals to the lowest in at least 10 years. Gold was little changed.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 added 0.1% as of 7:05 a.m. in Tokyo. The index rose 1.1% on Thursday.
- Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.8%.
- Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.2%.
Currencies
- The yen was at 107.19 per dollar.
- The offshore yuan was at 7.0833 per dollar.
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index closed little changed.
- The euro bought $1.1219.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries edged up to 0.69%.
Currencies
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1% to $39.11 a barrel.
- Gold was at $1,765.04 an ounce.
