U.S. agrees infrastructre spending package
U.S. stocks rallied in the regular session and extended hours after President Joe Biden secured an infrastructure deal with Senators. The total cost of this deal will be $1 trillion, which is significantly lower than the $2.3 trillion he had proposed.
U.S. stocks also rose after the Federal Reserve released its stress test results in which all banks passed. Wall Street banks are poised to announce a deluge of dividend increases and stock buybacks after the Federal Reserve’s stress tests showed the industry built up a stockpile of cash during the pandemic.
The S&P 500 ended Thursday up 24.65 points, or 0.58%, to 4266.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 322.58 points, or 0.95%, to 34196.82. The Nasdaq Composite rose 97.98 points, or 0.69%, to 14369.71.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered around 1.50%. Investors took the latest comments from Federal Reserve officials in their stride, after the central bank reassured on supportive policy while signalling that the process of removing exceptional stimulus will be gradual.
European stocks rose, led by a broad rally in value and cyclical shares amid a revival of the reflation trade helped by the Bank of England’s dovish tone and data showing the economic recovery is taking hold. The Thursday session extended gains with DAX gaining 0.86% and CAC 40 rising by 1.22%, while FTSE 100 increased by 0.51%.
Gilts rallied the most in nearly two weeks after the BOE warned against premature rate rises, pushing back bets on the timing of a 15bps rate hike by two months to August 2022.
10-year gilt yields dropped by -3bps to 0.75%. Bund yields fell by -1bps to -0.19%. While Italian 10-year yields decreased -3bps to 0.86%, narrowing the BTP-bund spread. French 10-year yields tightened by 1bps to 0.15%.
Asia’s stock benchmark rose, set for its first weekly advance in three weeks with the market buoyed by optimism over the U.S. infrastructure deal. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was 0.79% higher, on track to end the week on a positive note with nearly a 1% gain.
Oil prices climbed for a third straight session on Friday, on track for a fifth consecutive weekly gain, as demand growth is expected to outstrip supply on bets that OPEC+ producers will be cautious in returning more output to the market from August.
Brent crude futures rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $75.62 a barrel at 0646 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $73.35 a barrel.