NEW YORK (Reuters) – World equity markets rallied for a 4th day on Thursday, with essential stock indexes touching fresh peaks, as news that China prepares to cut tariffs in half on some U.S. products buoyed risk belief and pressed safe-haven currencies lower.
The yield on Germany’s benchmark 10- year Bund touched its greatest in nearly two weeks and U.S. Treasury yields rose as investors bet China’s efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus would reduce its effect on the global economy.
The death toll in mainland China jumped by 73 to 563, with more than 28,000 infections confirmed.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in an interview with Fox Organisation Network, minimized issues that the outbreak might impact global supply chains, however acknowledged “this is something we’re keeping an eye on extremely carefully.”
Major stock indexes, consisting of the STOXX Europe 600 of small-, mid- and large-cap stocks, the benchmark S&P 500 SPX and Dow industrials DJI on Wall Street, and the S&P/ TSX composite GSPTSE in Toronto, set records.
The yen slid to a two-week low versus the dollar and the franc fell to its weakest in more than a week as financiers hailed news China would halve tariffs here on 1,717 U.S. products.
Lots of risk-off moves taken control of the past two weeks are being unwound, said Simon Harvey, an FX market analyst at Monex Europe in London.
” We’re seeing credible actions from monetary authorities in China