Bitcoin price today: surges to $122k, near record high on US regulatory cheer
* Financial markets trying to shake off virus woes
* Equities draw investors on hopes for more China stimulus
* Oil markets worried about demand disruptions
(Updates throughout, changes byline, dateline)
By Sujata Rao
LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Expectations of more central bank
stimulus lifted world stocks to their highest in more than a
week on Wednesday, helping investors look past a mounting
coronavirus death toll and policymakers' concerns for the
disease's economic impact.
Already, billions of dollars pumped in by Chinese
authorities to cushion the blow from the outbreak, along with
stringent containment measures, have boosting mainland China
indexes more than 1% and lifted Hong Kong shares .SSEC
.CSI300 .
European shares also turned around following a lacklustre
open, with a pan-European benchmark up 0.6% .STOXX . Wall
Street futures reversed earlier losses to rise almost half a
percent ESc1 . MSCI's global index rose 0.3% .MIWD00000PUS
and was 2.3% above Monday's six-week lows.
Traders said European stocks also rose because a Chinese TV
report said a research team at Zhejiang University has found an
effective drug to treat people infected with the coronavirus.
Reuters has not confirmed the veracity of the report.
"Traders have taken the view that the situation is now more
likely to be under control and hopefully the spread of the
health crisis will be stemmed," said David Madden, market
analysts at CMC Markets.
The report and the stimulus expectations offset at least
partly the news that the virus's death toll had killed 500 and
sickened 25,000. China and other countries have imposed travel restrictions
to contain the outbreak, hurting manufacturing and tourism in
the world's second-largest economy and across its global supply
chains.
Those concerns were reflected in signals from the Bank of
Japan and the Monetary Authority of Singapore that they were
ready to ease policy. BOJ Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe
pledged not to rule out any option, including lowering already-
negative interest rates. The Singapore dollar fell to a near-four-month low after
monetary authorities said the currency had room to weaken to
offset the effects of the virus. Markets responded by pricing in
policy easing at the April meeting SGD=D3 .
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) is also likely to lower
its key lending rate on Feb. 20 and cut banks' reserve ratios,
policy sources told Reuters. "Clearly ... all the central banks are ready to act if
necessary," said Justin Onuekwusi, a portfolio manager at Legal
& General Investment Management.
"Lessons from the (2003) SARS outbreak also show the shock
to the real economy tends to be temporary and markets do recover
very quickly from such outbreaks," Onuekwusi said.
The media report on the breakthrough drug also boosted some
of the assets that are shunned during risk-off times. The
Australian dollar hit a one-week high and the Swedish and
Norwegian currencies also strengthened
Brent crude oil bounced 2% LCOc1 on the day as well, after
losing 16% since Jan. 21 on fears the economic effects of the
virus would curb demand. Crude also go support from expectations
OPEC and its allies would cut output to prop up demand.
bond markets, benchmark 10-year Treasury yields
US10YT=RR rose two basis points to 1.62%.
Oil, copper, Chinese stocks performance since virus outbreak
https://tmsnrt.rs/37RShMa
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