Shares, bonds rally as investors bank on ceaseless stimulus
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares pushed higher on Thursday after a flood of soft economic data led investors to wager on a ceaseless fountain of stimulus from major central banks, sending bond yields tumbling across the globe.
"Euro area inflation remains subdued, which could put pressure on the ECB.
The thought of endless largesse helped take the sting out of the disappointing economic news and underpinned equities.
The Australian market added 0.6 percent, led by a 2.2 percent gain for local telecoms giant Telstra after its earnings beat forecasts and it announced a share buyback.
On Wall Street the Dow had ended Wednesday 0.55 percent firmer, while the S&P 500 added 0.67 percent and the Nasdaq 1.02 percent.
NO HIKES HERE
Bond investors were also enticed by the outlook for easy money as subdued U.S. retail sales led markets to again push back the day when the Federal Reserve might first raise rates.
Fed fund futures for June next year closed at their highest in over two months at 99.75, implying a rate of just 0.25 percent.
Two-year U.S. Treasury yields dived to their lowest close in nine weeks at 0.4159 percent, rallying from a top of 0.59 percent in just 10 sessions.
With traders abandoning bets for a near-term hike, yields on two-year gilts plunged 10 basis points to 0.719 percent, the biggest daily fall since late June 2013.
The pound dropped to its lowest in four months around $1.6680. It also plumbed a near seven-week low at 80.20 pence per euro and slid to 170.79 yen.
In commodity markets, worries about Chinese demand kept copper down at $6,886 a tonne, after touching a seven-week trough under $6,874.
Spot gold, in contrast, found support from the outlook for loose monetary policy and edged up to $1,313.54 an ounce.
Prices for Brent crude oil were off 53 cents at $103.75, after hitting a 13-month low of $102.37 a barrel. U.S. crude was down 24 cents at $97.35.