(Bloomberg) -- Stocks around the world climbed at the end of a dismal year, with solid gains in U.S. equity futures after President Donald Trump reported “big progress” in trade talks with his Chinese counterpart. Treasuries were steady and oil rallied.
Miners and retailers led a second day of gains in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, which was still on course for a decline of about 13 percent this year -- the biggest loss since 2008. Contracts on the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all rallied and shares in China climbed as Trump said in a tweet that negotiations toward a comprehensive trade deal were “moving along very well.” The dollar edged lower and copper advanced. The euro held steady after Italy’s populist government won final parliamentary approval for its 2019 budget.
Even if Monday’s gains hold, major indexes remain down for 2018. Global stocks are set for their worst year since the financial crisis while oil is mired in its steepest quarterly slump since 2014. Plenty of event risks loom in the next 12 months, from the U.K.’s exit from the European Union to U.S.-China trade talks and the continuing showdown between President Trump and Congress over the budget. The American political landscape is also unsettling investors following departures of senior officials and Trump’s repeated criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Elsewhere, emerging-market shares climbed and their currencies were steady even as factory data from China contracted.
Here are some events investors may focus on in coming days:
- The U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI is due Friday, Jan. 4.
- Fed Chair Powell is interviewed with predecessors Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association Friday. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic joins a panel on long-run macroeconomic performance.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.8 percent as of 8:01 a.m. London time, to the highest in almost two weeks.
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.2 percent to the highest in more than a week.
- The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.1 percent to the highest in more than a week.
- The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.4 percent to the highest in more than a week.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent to the lowest in almost 10 weeks.
- The euro climbed less than 0.05 percent to $1.1445, the strongest in more than a week.
- The Japanese yen increased less than 0.05 percent to 110.23 per dollar, the strongest in 19 weeks.
- The British pound jumped 0.3 percent to $1.2735, the strongest in more than three weeks.
- The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index gained 0.1 percent to the highest in almost four weeks.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 2.72 percent.
- Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 1.269 percent, the biggest fall in a week.
Commodities
- The Bloomberg Commodity Index decreased less than 0.05 percent to the lowest in a week.
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.9 percent to $46.18 a barrel.
- LME copper gained 0.4 percent to $6,023.00 per metric ton, the highest in two weeks.
- Gold increased 0.1 percent to $1,281.53 an ounce, the highest in almost seven months.