Asian stocks gain, yuan soars as traders bet on U.S. stimulus, again

Asian shares and U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday as renewed hopes for a new round of U.S. stimulus drew money into equities from government debt.

European equities looked set to follow. Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 were up 0.25%, German DAX futures FDXc1 rose 0.28%, and FTSE futures FFIc1 gained 0.18%.

U.S. stock futures EScv1 rose 0.71%.

The White House and Democrats in the U.S. Congress moved closer to agreement on a new coronavirus relief package on Tuesday as President Donald Trump said he was willing to accept a large aid bill despite opposition from his own Republican Party.

Negotiations will continue on Wednesday, an aide to top U.S. Democrat Nancy Pelosi said.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.51%, while Tokyo shares .N225 gained 0.42%.

Australian stocks .AXJO edged up by 0.09%, but shares in China .CSI300 fell 0.33%.

The yuan CNY=CFXS surged to the strongest level against the dollar in more than two years on growing optimism about China’s economy and speculation that a victory for U.S. Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden next month will lead to better Sino-U.S. ties.

Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields hit a four-month high and the yield curve steepened on expectations for more U.S. fiscal spending, but some investors remain cautious about the chances of a deal before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3.

“More stimulus means stocks rise and yields rise,” said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.

“Without stimulus, everything goes into reverse. U.S. President Donald Trump is attacking Biden before the election, which could impact stimulus negotiations. However, it is also damaging for the Democrats if they continue to hold out.”

On Wall Street, shares of Google parent company Alphabet GOOGL.O rose despite an antitrust lawsuit against it by the U.S. Justice Department.

Netflix, however, reported disappointing earnings, leading its shares to fall 6% after trading hours.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average.DJI ended up 0.40%. The S&P 500.SPX rose 0.47%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.IXIC rose 0.33%.[.N]

The onshore yuan CNY=CFXS jumped to 6.6444 per dollar, the strongest since July 2018. Yuan bulls have been encouraged by recent signs from the People’s Bank of China that it is more comfortable with currency appreciation, with exports remaining strong.

The U.S. dollar hit a one-month low against a basket of major currencies =USD as investors awaited the outcome of the fiscal stimulus talks and as coronavirus cases spiked in Europe.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hit a four-month high of 0.8330% and the yield curve US2US10=TWEB reached the steepest level in more than four months on hopes lawmakers could agree on a stimulus package.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a surprise climb in U.S. crude stockpiles added to concerns about a global supply glut.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 0.49% to $42.95 a barrel while U.S. crude futures CLc1 slipped by 0.43% to $41.52 per barrel.