Stocks post another record high; oil halts slide

US stocks registered a record high for a second consecutive day amid renewed optimism over US stimulus talks and a rebound in crude oil. Treasury yields rose, while the dollar touched a more than two-year low. The S&P 500 rose by 0.18% to 3,669.01 while Dow Jones was up 59.87 points (0.20%) to 29,883.79.

Powell says no rift with Mnuchin, signals Fed not stepping back

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that there was no rift between the central bank and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the sunsetting of emergency lending programs. “Our thinking is not about the Cares Act money, it’s more about the economy,” Powell said. We were concerned that the public would interpret this as the Fed stepping back -- and that’s not the case. We needed to send a signal saying this.

Biden offers transatlantic embrace to EU’s already open arms

A transatlantic alliance fractured by Donald Trump’s unilateral trade policies appeared headed for repair as both President-elect Joe Biden and Europe signaled an urgency to rejoin a united front against China’s ascendancy in the global economy. “The best China strategy, I think, is one which gets every one of our -- or at least what used to be our -- allies on the same page,” Biden said.

Fed sees moderate US growth with virus causing some slowdowns

The US economic recovery remained moderate across much of the country, and showed signs of a slowdown in areas where coronavirus cases are particularly high, according to a Federal Reserve report. Most districts characterized the economic expansion as “modest or moderate,” the central bank said.

ECB’s Kazaks backs longer bond-buying in stimulus boost

European Central Bank policy maker Martins Kazaks said an expansion of the institution’s emergency bond-buying program by 500 billion euros ($603 billion) would be “reasonable” and he’s ready to support an extension until mid 2022. The resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in the euro area and the likely negative impact on economic growth next year mean that the ECB needs to continue to provide support, the governor of Latvia’s central bank said.

German joblessness fell in November despite second lockdown

Germany’s labor market shrugged off a worsening pandemic and new restrictions, with unemployment unexpectedly declining for a fifth month in November. A drop of 39,000 left the total number of jobless people at 2.82 million, pushing the unemployment rate down to 6.1%, according to the Federal Labor Agency. Large parts of the jobs market continue to be propped up by government subsidies.

South Korea sees green and digital path to build back better

South Korea aims to focus on green and digital industries as it looks to boost its standing in the global economy, according to a senior policy maker working on next year’s economic plan. Future cars, biohealth, system semiconductors and low-carbon emission industries are among the industries the government will focus on going ahead, Lee Hyoung-il, director general at the finance ministry’s policy bureau, said.

Oil rises with US supply dropping and OPEC inching toward deal

Oil jumped the most in a week after a surprise decline in US crude inventories and signals that OPEC+ made progress toward a widely anticipated deal on extending output curbs. Brent crude for February settlement gained US$0.83 to US$48.25 per barrel.

Source: Affin Hwang Research - 3 Dec 2020