Oil up, stocks hit records as US political uncertainty eases

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares closed at record highs on Tuesday, while bitcoin and oil prices also rose as political uncertainty eased after US President-elect Joe Biden got formal green light to begin his transition to the White House.

Unless he spelled out his defeat after repeated false claims that he had won the November 3 race, President Donald Trump said on Monday he told the federal agency he must sign the presidential transition to begin the process.

Japan’s Nikkei closed at their highest since 1991, European equities closed at their highest since February, and Wall Street’s Dow Industrials hit a record above 30,000, with reports of Biden’s appointment of former Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen it further tempts risk-taking investors.

The bullish background was upbeat on news of the COVID-19 vaccine, including probable shots for some first responders within weeks and a very successful so-called “vaccine for the world” that could be more easily distributed even in poorer countries.

“A bit of waning uncertainty on the electoral front, the market looks pretty supportive of Yellen’s announcement, it just feels like one of those good days when all things are moving a little higher,” said Ross Mayfield , Baird’s investment strategy analyst.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 454.97 points, or 1.54%, to 30,046.24, the S&P 500 gained 57.82 points, or 1.62%, to 3,635.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 156.15 points, or 1.31%, to 12,036.79.

The S&P also set a closing record.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.91% and the MSCI stock index worldwide gained 1.44%, on track to close at a record high.

Emerging market equities were up 0.45%. The broader MSCI index of Asia Pacific equities outside of Japan closed up 0.56%, while the Japanese Nikkei was up 2.50%.

Bitcoin was up more than 5% with $ 20,000 in sight, with traders expecting volatility in sight due in part to Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday in US markets.

The latest cryptocurrency rose 3.5% to $ 19,017.73 per coin. Gold fell for the fifth session in six.

“Trading conditions are likely to be volatile for the remainder of the week and cryptocurrency traders should expect $ 1,000 swings in minutes,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York, said of bitcoin.

In other currency markets, the dollar was under pressure from Yellen’s expected push for fiscal stimulus.

The dollar index was down 0.374%, with the euro up 0.41% to $ 1.1889.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.08% against the greenback to 104.45 per dollar, while the British pound was last traded at $ 1.3359, up 0.27% on the day .

An index of emerging market currencies changed little over the course of the day. It hit a 2-1 / 2-year high last week.

Also fueled by vaccine hopes, oil has reached levels not seen since before the coronavirus pandemic began to spread in March.

“The possibility of having a vaccine next year increases the odds that we will see a return in demand in the new year,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

US crude oil was up 4.25% to $ 44.89 a barrel and Brent oil to $ 47.89, up 3.97% on the day.

Spot gold was down 1.6% to $ 1,806.56 an ounce. Silver was down 1.51% to $ 23.22.

Long-term Treasury yields extended their rally, further tightening the US yield curve, as investors rushed to riskier investments.

The 10-year benchmark notes fell 7/32 in price to return 0.8816%, up from 0.859% late Monday.

The 30-year bond yield was 1.6065%, up from 1.563%, and the 2-year note returned 0.1641%, up from 0.169%.