The German DAX 30 climbed to a fresh all-time high in early trade
U.S. stocks slipped on Monday, as worries about inflation continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 1.65% late Monday, up from 1.63% at the end of last week. Fed’s Clarida said that the weaker-than-expected April payroll report shows they have not made substantial further progress on the central bank’s goals for employment and inflation. As such, the S&P 500 dipped 0.25%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.38%.
Asian shares rose Tuesday amid renewed optimism that economic reopenings will boost growth later in the year. On the data front, Japan’s economy shrank at an annualized rate of 5.1% from January to March. On a seasonally adjusted basis, gross domestic product in the first quarter fell 1.3% quarter-on-quarter. still, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 2.1%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.23%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.60%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.42%, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.32%.
In Europe, equities opened higher, with German DAX 30 climbing to a fresh all-time high in early trade. The falling unemployment rate in the UK and strong earnings reports from companies added to an upbeat tone among investors. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5%, trading just shy of its record high registered last week, while Italy’s FTSE MIB added 0.9% to fresh pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, the dollar dipped to fresh multi-week lows amid the prevailing risk-on sentiment in the global financial markets. Against this backdrop, EURUSD rallied to late-February highs beyond the 1.2200 figure. It looks like the euro could extend the ascent in the short term as the greenback could stay on the defensive ahead of the upcoming FOMC meeting minutes due on Wednesday.
