Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, November 21:
1. World Stocks Push Higher Amid Global Growth Optimism
World stocks pushed higher, with the current bull market showing new signs of life, as investors took heart from further evidence of strength in the global economy.
Asian-Pacific markets rose to a 10-year high as the hot tech sector continued to drive the region’s equities. Among notable standouts, Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.7%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.9% higher.
In Europe, most of the region's bourses shook off opening losses to trade in positive territory in mid-morning trade, with the DAX up 0.5%, as investors shrugged off concerns over a political impasse in Germany.
On Wall Street, U.S. stock futures pointed to a small step higher at the open, putting the Nasdaq Composite on track to flirt with record territory.
With no major earnings or economic data scheduled, trading volumes were likely to remain thin leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and an early market close on Friday.
2. Euro Steadies After Biggest Daily Fall in A Month
The euro steadied against the other major currencies, after notching up its biggest one-day fall in nearly a month in the previous session, as investors shrugged aside concerns of any fallout from the German political deadlock for now.
EUR/USD was largely unchanged at around 1.1735 during early deals in New York, after falling half a percent on Monday, its biggest daily decline since Oct. 26. The euro was also steady against the yen and the pound.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday evening she would prefer fresh elections to ruling with a minority government after talks on forming a three-way coalition collapsed.
The prospect of prolonged political uncertainty in the euro area’s largest economy worried investors, but they judged it was unlikely to harm the upbeat outlook for the region’s growth prospects.
3. Yellen To Drop Clues on Dec. Rate Hike?
Investors awaited fresh signals about the likely trajectory of monetary policy in the U.S. in the months ahead.
Markets will be watching Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen when she speaks in New York on Tuesday evening for any clues on interest rates. Yellen said on Monday she would resign her seat on the Fed's Board of Governors once Jerome Powell is confirmed and sworn in to replace her as head of the U.S. central bank.
The Fed is scheduled to hold its final policy meeting of the year on Dec. 12-13, with interest rate futures pricing in a 100% chance of a rate hike at that meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool. For 2018, the Fed is currently forecasting three interest rate hikes, but the markets expect two at most.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rival currencies, was little changed near the 94-handle.
4. Bitcoin Slides After $31M Crypto Heist
Bitcoin prices were lower, but well off the worst levels of the session seen during Asian hours, after a $31 million heist elsewhere in the digital currency world rattled sentiment.
Tether, which has a market cap of roughly $673 million and is the world’s 19th largest cryptocurrency, said in a blog post that "funds were improperly removed from the Tether treasury wallet through malicious action by an external attacker."
$30,950,010 was taken in total on Sunday, the U.S.-based company said.
Tether fell by as much as 8% against the dollar on the back of the news, before recovering the bulk of its losses.
The theft appeared to have temporarily shaken wider confidence in crypto markets.
Bitcoin last traded at $8,179, down around 1% on the day, recovering from an overnight low of $7,755.
Bitcoin, which is known for sharp swings, has tended to rebound quickly from pullbacks. It has risen more than 700% so far this year and at current prices has a total market capitalization of around $135 billion.
5. Oil Regains Ground as Focus Shifts to U.S. Supply Data
Crude prices rose slightly as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest energy consumer.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (2130GMT), amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of around 2.1 million barrels.
U.S. crude futures inched up 38 cents, or about 0.7%, to $56.80 a barrel, while Brent was at $62.76, up 54 cents, or 0.9%, from its last close.