S&P 500 Posts Best Gain in Three Weeks; Oil Jumps: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose to an all-time high on optimism over the vaccine rollout and after the Federal Reserve freed banks from restrictions on dividends. Oil gained as the dollar slumped.

The S&P 500 Index climbed the most in three weeks amid a late-day surge and ended at a record, with energy producers and health companies among the best performers Friday. Automakers retreated as they confront a worsening global shortage of semiconductors.

Risk appetite also came back in Europe and Asia, capping a volatile week beset with vaccine-supply disputes, a traffic block on the Suez canal and further deterioration in China’s relations with the West. The U.S. outlook got a boost after President Joe Biden doubled the goal for vaccinations in his first 100 days in office to 200 million.

“The tone of the market has somehow altered from angst to optimism, spurred by President Biden’s doubling of the U.S. vaccine-rollout target and the Fed’s end to pandemic-era dividend cuts,” Nema Ramkhelawan-Bhana, a strategist at Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg, wrote in a note. “It’s remarkable how little it takes to shift the mood.”

The delay in freeing the ship stuck on the Suez Canal boosted oil, trimming a weekly loss in West Texas Intermediate crude.

European stocks rose in a broad advance. Miners and energy firms benefited from a rotation into cyclical re-opening trades. An index of Asian shares jumped the most in two weeks.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin clawed back earlier losses to trade near $54,000.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index climbed 1.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.9%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.3%.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 1.4%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.2%.
• The euro gained 0.3% to $1.1796.
• The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3784.
• The Japanese yen weakened 0.5% to 109.67 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries added three basis points to 1.66%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield jumped four basis points to -0.35%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 0.75%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.8% to $60.80 a barrel.
• Gold rose 0.3% to $1,731.61 an ounce.

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