US stock futures retreat as global equity rally fizzles

A gauge of Asia-Pacific shares edged higher while gold and crude oil declined

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is up over 9 per cent this week. Reuters

A global equity rally showed signs of stalling on Friday, with Nasdaq futures unwinding some of this week’s surge amid the ongoing US election count. The dollar edged up from its lowest in more than two years.

US and European stock futures retreated, while a gauge of Asia-Pacific shares edged higher. The S&P 500 climbed almost 2 per cent on Thursday and is headed for its best week since April. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.7 per cent as of 1:22pm in Tokyo. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is up over 9 per cent this week.

Japan’s Topix index rose 0.6 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.2 per cent. Shanghai Composite dropped 0.7 per cent and Euro Stoxx 50 futures retreated 0.7 per cent.

Gold and crude oil declined and Treasuries were little changed. The yen steadied after rising past the closely watched 104 per dollar level. Federal Reserve officials kept interest rates near zero and made no change to asset purchases while stressing that the US economy needs more fiscal and monetary policy support.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at about 0.77 per cent. Australia’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.76 per cent.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.5 per cent to $37.84 a barrel. Gold fell 0.6 per cent to $1,938.18 an ounce after surging 2.5 per cent on Thursday.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.1 per cent after slumping 1 per cent on Thursday. The yen was at 103.45 per dollar. The offshore yuan traded at 6.6189 per dollar, down 0.2 per cent. The euro bought $1.1822.

Votes are still being tallied in a handful of key US states, with Democrat Joe Biden potentially needing to win just one to unseat President Donald Trump. The president questioned the credibility of the election, complaining that public polls had overstated Mr Biden’s lead in many battlegrounds states.

“The market reaction to the unfolding election news suggests that financial markets would prefer to see a constrained Biden presidency,” said Paul O’Connor, head of multi-asset at Janus Henderson Investors. “The economic backdrop to this election is one of an incomplete global recovery that remains threatened by the continued spread of Covid-19 in many major economies as well as fast-fading fiscal support measures.”

The US became the first country to top 100,000 coronavirus infections in a single day as Fed chair Jerome Powell warned that mounting infection rates are a risk to the recovery. France warned of a “violent” second wave as it joined European countries, including Italy and Poland, in reporting new highs in daily infections.