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S&P 500 futures rose to trade near a record high on Monday as investors awaited Thursday's Federal Reserve policy meeting, while bitcoin held above $39,000, having rallied after Elon Musk raised the prospect of Tesla accepting the token for payments again.
Futures for the S&P 500 climbed 0.14% to near new highs after the index hit a record on Friday. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.27%, while Dow Jones futures were 0.13% higher.
Equity investors around the world are showing themselves to be optimistic, as the biggest economies reopen from coronavirus lockdowns and growth picks up.
Europe's Stoxx 600 gained 0.18% to reach a record high, while the UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.33%. Japan's Nikkei 225 put on 0.74%, while Chinese markets were shut for a public holiday.
In the US, stocks have been helped in recent days by a fall in bond yields, driven by ongoing support from Fed policymakers and by investors betting that the sharp rise in inflation in April and May will prove temporary.
Yields – which move inversely to prices – fell sharply in the five days to Friday, as bonds had their best week in a year. Yet the yield on the key 10-year US Treasury note was roughly flat on Monday at 1.460% as the rally paused.
Investors were looking ahead to the Fed's bulletin from its policy meeting on Thursday, which they hope will provide clues about the central bank's plans for interest rates. Most analysts expect the Fed to remain committed to its ultra-supportive stance for the foreseeable future.
"The only thing that can move the needle on the Fed outlook is employment. Nothing else matters," said Aneta Markowska, chief US economist at Jefferies.
"We believe [Fed Chair Jay] Powell needs to see roughly 3 million additional jobs before he feels that 'substantial further progress' has been achieved. At the current pace of job growth, it will take roughly six months," she added.
Analysts at Dutch bank ING said they were looking out for the updated economic forecasts, "to see if there are any signs of cracks in the Fed's position that elevated inflation readings will be 'transitory'."
Elsewhere in markets, bitcoin prices held onto Sunday's rise to above $39,000, having stood below $36,000 on Saturday. The gain came after Tesla boss Elon Musk said on Sunday that the electric car company would start accepting bitcoin as payment again once mining of the token becomes greener. Bitcoin was flat on Monday morning at $39,265.
"When there's confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions," he tweeted on Sunday.
Positivity about the global outlook lifted oil once again. Brent crude was up 0.99% to $73.43, and WTI crude moved 0.83% higher to $71.51.
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See Also:
- The CIO at a digital asset hedge fund that returned 373% in 2020 breaks down why bitcoin's sell-off is in its final stages — and shares why he thinks ether could triple from current levels
- Goldman Sachs' senior portfolio strategist breaks down why now is the right time for investors to shift to equities from credit
- The CEO of crypto exchange Kraken breaks down why he stands by his $200,000 year-end price target for bitcoin amid recent corrections — and shares 5 tokens that intrigue him
