Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P Live Updates for December 24, 2020

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Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg

Most Asian stocks rallied on Thursday and the pound moved up as a sketch of post-Brexit trading deal seemed to calm investors’ nerves on the way to the Christmas holiday season.

Stocks were higher in Australia, Japan and South Korea, while US stock futures were flat. The S&P 500 previously finished just 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite and Russell 2000 indices set intraday records. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. sank more than 6% in Hong Kong after China launched an investigation into alleged monopolistic practices at the technology giant.

Treasuries were stable after the difference between the 5- and 30-year yields Wednesday broadened to a peak in four years. Some stock markets will close early on Thursday due to the Christmas holidays and after that most will be closed on Friday.

Sterling climbed on indications that a trade deal with the EU is near

Investors are looking past President Donald Trump’s demand for changes in pandemic alleviation in the US, expecting stimulus spending to come sooner or later. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took hold of Trump’s call for larger individual checks, saying the House would try to implement this additional measure in a pro forma session on Thursday.

“Right now we have a lot of animal spirits pouring into the end of the year,” Michael Purves, founder and CEO of Tallbacken Capital Advisors, said on Bloomberg TV. “As constructive as I am in broader-term markets, I expect there will be some sort of hangover some time later this winter to deal with this overextension.”

In the meantime, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE agree to double the supply of their Covid-19 vaccine to the US. fast.

Negotiators in the UK and the European Union have reached the contours of a post-Brexit trade deal and are now finalizing the deal’s formulation.

These are the main movements in markets:

Shares

  • Futures on the S&P 500 added 0.1% as of 10:41 a.m. in Tokyo. The meter rose 0.1% on Wednesday.
  • The Japanese Topix index rose 0.6%.
  • Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.2%.
  • Shanghai Composite added 0.3%.
  • South Korean Kospi gained 0.8%.
  • The Australian S & P / ASX 200 Index rose 0.7%.

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after falling 0.4% on Wednesday.
  • The yen stood at 103.57 per dollar.
  • The euro bought $ 1.2207, up 0.2%.
  • The pound was up 0.3% to $ 1.3533.
  • The offshore yuan traded at $ 6.5258 per dollar.

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year government bonds rose by one basis point to 0.95%.
  • Australia’s 10-year return increased six basis points to 0.99%.

Raw materials

  • West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $ 48.18 a barrel.
  • Gold climbed 0.2% to $ 1,877.24 an ounce.

– With the help of Kamaron Leach

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