London — World stocks are holding near a record high and the euro is on course for its best month in nine as strong US data and corporate earnings plus the US Federal Reserve’s commitment to support the economy has fueled investors’ appetite for risk.
“The Federal Reserve continues to support; Biden has this huge stimulus programme as well, and the earnings season continues — so far we have seen relatively benign as well as strong earnings,” said Eddie Cheng, head of international multi-asset portfolio management at Wells Fargo Asset Management. Preliminary eurozone GDP data at 9am GMT, meanwhile, is expected to show a drop of 2% in the first quarter, according to a Reuters poll, which would mean a fall into a technical recession, say Commerzbank analysts.
“Risky assets have had quite a few wobbles within the month,” said Cheng. “We need to get used to this not going to be a straight line.”