· Credit Suisse predicts global growth of 5.9% for 2021, says stocks to outperform other asset classes
Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse expects global growth to accelerate in the coming months as countries gradually reopen their economies, leading to a recovery in revenue growth and rehiring.
In its investment outlook for the second half of 2021, Credit Suisse predicted the world economy will grow 5.9% this year and 4% in 2022. That growth will be led by vaccine rollouts, fiscal stimulus and a broadening services recovery. It also said the United States is set to grow at a rate of 6.9% this year, the Eurozone is expected to expand by 4.2% while Asia ex-Japan is predicted to grow 7.5%.
Economic expansion will likely lead to a sharp recovery in global earnings growth that is set to fuel the stock market, according to Ray Farris, chief investment officer for South Asia at Credit Suisse.
· Asian shares tread water, markets eye U.S. inflation signals
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1% to 695.2 points, off a one-month trough of 685.12 touched earlier this week.
Japan's Nikkei (.N225) rose slightly to 28,905.5, while Chinese shares were in the red with the blue-chip CSI300 index (.CSI300) off 0.3%.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq closed at a record high on Wednesday, while other major U.S. indexes ended lower alongside European stocks.
The market has whipsawed over the last week, feeling the after-effects of a surprise projection for rate increases as soon as 2023 by the U.S. Federal Reserve which knocked stocks, boosted the dollar and led to the flattening of the U.S. bond yield curve.
· E-Mart to acquire 80% stake of eBay's S.Korean business for $3 bln
South Korea's E-Mart Inc (139480.KS) said on Thursday it plans to acquire 80% stake of eBay Inc's (EBAY.O) South Korean business for 3.4 trillion won ($3.00 billion), E-Mart said in a regulatory filing.
· European markets advance as investors digest Fed comments, data
European stocks cautiously advanced on Thursday as global investors digested comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials and looked ahead to various data releases.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.4% in early trade, with financial services and tech stocks adding 0.7% to lead gains while telecoms bucked the upward trend to slip 0.4%.
European markets look set to rebound from Thursday’s dip amid a choppy week, which has seen global stocks whipsaw as investors monitor the outlook for inflation and central bank policy.
· U.S. stock futures rise after S&P 500 snaps two-day winning streak
Stock futures rose mildly after the market’s comeback rally hit a speedbump on Wednesday.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 100 points in early morning trade Thursday. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both traded in positive territory.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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