GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian markets look to rise on vaccine, stimulus hopes

By Pete Schroeder
Dec 9 (Reuters) - Asian markets were set to rise Wednesday
as investors tracked positive news on COVID-19 vaccines and
ongoing efforts to launch more fiscal stimulus.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 were up 0.57% in
early trading, while Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 were down 0.02%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI .HSIc1 were up
0.42%.
On Wall Street, stocks notched new record levels Tuesday at
the S&P and Nasdaq, boosted by gains in the healthcare sector on
the back of positive vaccine news and seeming progress on U.S.
stimulus talks, as the U.S. dollar dipped.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.35%, the S&P
500 .SPX gained 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
0.5%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.21%. The dollar index =USD was up 0.08%.
"USD consolidated amid a lift in U.S. equities to record
highs and positive signs that an agreement on an one-week
stopgap funding bill that would push off a partial government
shutdown," wrote Joseph Capurso, a strategist with Commonwealth
Bank of Australia.
"There appears to be some bipartisan support for a fiscal
package of US$908 bln (4% of GDP)."
U.S. policymakers continued to negotiate over additional
stimulus to help offset the economic impact of the pandemic
while pursuing a stopgap government funding bill. Leaders in
both parties remain adamant a deal must be struck but are still
working through sticking points, including aid to state and
local governments and business liability protections.
The steady march of positive news on COVID-19 vaccines
helped lift investor spirits.
Britain on Tuesday became the first Western nation to begin
a wide vaccination campaign, and Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N
reported it could obtain late-stage trial results for a
single-dose vaccine in January, earlier than expected.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc PFE.N cleared another hurdle when the
U.S. health regulator released documents flagging no new safety
or efficacy concerns. But the looming prospect of a "no deal" Brexit weighed on
investors, as British and European Union negotiators are still
trying to break a deadlock in trade deal talks within three
weeks. In the foreign exchange market, sterling GBP= was trading
down 0.2%.
The benchmark 10-year US10YT=RR yield was down 1.3 basis
points in afternoon trading at 0.9146%. Oil prices .LCOc1 .CLc1 were near unchanged, with Brent
crude LCOc1 futures settling at $48.84 a barrel, up 5 cents.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures settled 16
cents lower at $45.60. Spot gold prices XAU= were higher.
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