Global stocks extend their comeback, oil surges as attention turns to manufacturing data

Global stocks made strong gains on Monday, making a comeback after last week’s sell-off, as attention shifted to upcoming manufacturing data on whether the surge in Delta variant cases is slowing the recovery global economy as feared.

On US equities, S&P 500 futures rose 0.33%, Dow Jones futures gained 0.43%, and Nasdaq futures edged up 0.27% to 6:30 am ET Monday. Oil futures also picked up some of the losses from last week.

The spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant continues to worry nerves, as global cases rise for the ninth week in a row, according to data from Johns Hopkins. Outbreaks intensified over the weekend in Australia and New Zealand intensified over the weekend, which were widely believed to have contained the virus.

As concerns grow about the impact of recent waves on the strength of the economic recovery, investors are watching preliminary data on monthly manufacturing activity in several countries on Monday. PMI data for Japan and Australia showed a contraction as COVID-19 cases increased. US purchasing managers index flash data for August is due later today.

Major Asian stock markets closed higher on Monday, coming back from a steep decline last week, after China said it had not had a new local case of the coronavirus, the first time since July. The Shanghai Composite rose 1.45% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 1.07%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 finished up 1.78%.

Oil recovered some of the losses recorded last week alongside other commodities, boosted by a weaker US dollar. Analysts have suggested that investors are now anxiously awaiting the September 1 OPEC + meeting.

“Prior to the recent sell-off, the market probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to this meeting, with a production policy set until the end of the year. However, with the recent weakness in prices, the market will wait. now anxious to see if the group decides to delay part of its easing of cuts, ”ING analysts said in a note.

Brent crude was at $ 66.72 per barrel, up 3.04%, while WTI crude rose 2.99% to $ 64.00 per barrel.

Attention is also drawn to the Federal Reserve’s symposium in Jackson Hole, which is scheduled to begin Thursday. President Jerome Powell is due to speak on Friday.

“The big question is what Powell might say about a potential timeframe for which the Fed might start cutting back on asset purchases,” Deutsche Bank analysts said. “Our US economists believe that Powell’s speech on Friday will largely reflect his words at the press conference following the July FOMC meeting, as well as in the minutes, and therefore do not expect a strong signal. regarding the next Fed rally in September. “

Cryptocurrencies surged over the weekend, and bitcoin broke the psychological $ 50,000 mark on Sunday for the first time in three months. Bitcoin stood at $ 50,120.60 per coin, up 1.67% in the 24 hours to 6:42 a.m. ET on Monday.

European markets edged up early Monday. The London FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the Frankfurt DAX by 0.25% and the Euro Stoxx 50 by 0.64%. A series of preliminary manufacturing and services data was released across Europe on Monday with mixed results.