Global shares advance on vaccine-, stimulus-led sentiment

Global share markets were seen upbeat on Monday as investors weighed the possibility of additional fiscal and monetary stimulus in the United States. Moreover, the British pound recovered from low grounds on post-Brexit trade.

After reaching a series of milestone peaks last week, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.1%. Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei hiked 0.5% backed by upbeat December figures in the country’s business sector.

S&P 500 e-minis soared 0.5%, while March Treasury bond futures gained 4%.In addition to this, EUROSTOXX 50 futures increased 0.5% as FTSE futures jumped 0.1%.

The markets’ positive performance could be attributed to investors’ vaccine-driven sentiment, with the United States already on its mission to inoculate more than 100 million people by the end of the first quarter next year.