World Shares Hit Record As Investors Hold To Dovish US Fed Bets

A global stocks index hit a record high on Tuesday as investors took comfort in growing views the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to delay the start of tapering its asset purchases and maintain its expansive monetary policy for the near-term.

European bourses are expected to dip, however, after gains on Monday, with Euro Stoxx futures down 0.1% and Britain’s FTSE futures trading 0.3% lower.

The world’s shares, measured by MSCI’s gauge of 50 markets tacked on 0.1% to log their eighth consecutive day of gains to record highs.

“Now that the tapering announcement from the Fed in September seems unlikely, we should expect ‘Goldilocks’ markets to continue to at least October or November,” said Masahiko Loo, portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.

The latest rally, which started after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish speech at Jackson Hole Symposium last month, received a further boost from a surprisingly soft U.S. payrolls report on Friday.

The U.S. economy created 235,000 jobs in August, the fewest in seven months as hiring in the leisure and hospitality sector stalled, reducing expectations of an early tapering by the Fed. read more

“It’s the service sector that is losing steam and that clearly shows the impact of Delta variant,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. “And the Fed has no reason to insist on tapering this year if the Delta variant is having an impact.”

In Asia, Japanese shares extended their bull run on hopes the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will compile additional economic stimulus and easily win an upcoming general election after unpopular Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he would quit. read more

Tokyo’s Nikkei (.N225) rallied 0.9% also helped by an announcement on its reshuffle .

Mainland Chinese shares extended gains, with the Shanghai Composite (.SSEC) rising 0.8% to reach its highest since February, helped by Chinese trade data showing both exports and imports grew much faster than expected in August.