Most Asian markets retreated Friday as traders took their foot off the pedal ahead of a much-anticipated earnings season, while an increasingly confident mood on trading floors has analysts predicting the global equities rally still has legs.
While some countries are having trouble with their vaccine programmes and a pick-up in infections, there is a general feeling that governments will get a better hold on the crisis and allow economies to reopen, if a little later than previously hoped.
Wall Street provided another strong lead, with the S&P 500 chalking up a second successive record and the Nasdaq piling on more than one percent as tech shares regained their mojo, having suffered recent selling.
Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell again repeated his mantra that the bank would stand fast in its pledge to keep borrowing costs at record lows for as long as needed to support recovery in the world’s top economy.
While last week’s blockbuster jobs report was welcome, he said the “recovery remains uneven and incomplete” and he wanted to see more of those in future before he was happy…
