Macro Roundup (Nov 11)

SHANGHAI, Nov 11 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The yen scraped back some losses against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, after the safe currency took a drubbing on news of the development of a coronavirus vaccine which raised optimism of a global economic recovery.

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE said a large-scale clinical trial showed their vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19.

The yen edged higher to 105.07 against the dollar, after suffering its biggest loss overnight since March. It fetched 76.42 against the Australian dollar, having lost more than 2% overnight.

“What’s important about the overnight movement is that it overturned the current trend of the U.S. dollar falling, instead of the yen, when the market turns risk-on,” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.

On Wall Street, U.S. equity futures were flat in overnight trading on Tuesday, amid this week’s rotation out of technology stocks into cyclical names.

Dow futures dropped 30 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1% and 0.04%, respectively.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 262 points. Fueling the rally is the hopes of a return to normal economic activity with an effective Covid-19 vaccine. The small cap Russell 2000 also outperformed, gaining 1.75%.

The S&P 500 fell 0.14%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.4%, with Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet all closing in the red.

Following Pfizer and BioNTech’s announcement about their more than 90% effective Covid-19 vaccine, investors moved out of technology names and stay-at-home stocks and into cyclical stocks that hinge upon a recovering economy.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine could be on the horizon outweighed the expected negative impact on fuel demand of new lockdowns to curb the virus.

Brent crude futures rose 53 cents, or 1.3%, to $42.93, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled up $1.07 cents, or 2.7%, to $41.36.

Both contracts jumped 8% on Monday, in their biggest daily gains in more than five months, after drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech said an experimental COVID-19 treatment was more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.

Mass rollouts, however, are likely to be months away and subject to regulatory approvals.

Gold rose 1% on Tuesday, following a sharp slide in the last session, as focus returned to the likelihood of more monetary stimulus to revive a global economy still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Spot gold climbed 1.1% to $1,881.39 per ounce by 0605 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were up 1.3% at $1,878.70.

Prices slumped as much as 5.2% on Monday after U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.

Central banks are unlikely to change their accommodative stance in the near to medium term as it will take time for a vaccine deployment and a pick-up in growth, inflation and labor market, said Lachlan Shaw, head of commodity research at National Australia Bank.

United States MBA Mortgage Applications as of November 6 will be released today.