World shares near five-month high as earnings season begins this week

On Monday, world shares edged towards a five-month high and the U.S. dollar decreased in late trading as investors anticipated that the earnings season would see most companies beat revenue forecasts in light of the lifted coronavirus restrictions.

The U.S. earnings season would begin this week including major Wall Street banks such as JPMorgan (JPM) and Citigroup (C).

According to the Refinitiv data, it’s expected to be the second-biggest quarterly earnings drop since 1968.

“There’s a view that the bar has been set pretty low for them to report the almost obligatory ‘better than expected’ results – the absence of forwarding guidance from many firms notwithstanding,” National Australia Bank’s Head of FX Strategy Ray Attrill said.

“Ongoing grim U.S. COVID-19 infection news continues to be summarily ignored in favor of ongoing optimism regarding the time-line for the discovery and rapid roll-out of an effective vaccine and more policy support for asset prices and the U.S. economy,” he added.

Wells Fargo (WFC) would start to report on Tuesday.