By World shares dipped on Friday as investors awaited progress towards more U.S. fiscal stimulus, while the dollar was set for a weekly loss and cryptocurrency Bitcoin hit a record high.
European shares fell at the start of trading, with the panEuropean STOXX 600 index down 0.2 on the day. Germanys DAX was down 0.7. Britains FTSE 100 fell 0.35 and Frances CAC 40 fell 0.3.
Italys FTSEMIB index fell 0.8 on the day, with the countrys bond yields were near record lows.
Markets in China and most of Southeast Asia are closed on Friday for the Lunar New Year. Chinas stock and bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures markets are closed through Feb. 17 for the holiday.
Futures for the SP 500 declined 0.12.
MSCIs All Country World index, which tracks stocks across 49 countries, fell 0.15 on the day, shy of record highs reached earlier this week.
Investors weighed some tepid economic data against increasing COVID19 vaccinations and the prospect that more government spending and continued cheap money from central banks will drive higher growth and, eventually, inflation.
Investors will have to follow a spike train, monitoring hospitalizations, stimulus, inflation, and volatility, said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, in his monthly letter to clients.
Overall, we retain a favorable view of markets over our tactical investment horizon, he said. While the spike train may lead to volatility, we dont think it will derail the bull…
