A pedestrian walks past an electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei 225 Stock Average and the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index in Tokyo, Japan in this file photo. Picture: BLOOMBERG/TOMOHIRO OHSUMI
The recovery from Covid-19 also remains patchy in many parts of the world, with exports reviving but broader economic activity still dampened by measures to contain fresh outbreaks. Overnight, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6%, hitting the highest in a month and taking total gains so far this year past 7%.
Though US inflation data last week was above estimates, another big miss on the jobs front would delay prospects for any wind-down of stimulus, analysts say.
I think that the media would be doing us a service if they started reporting stock prices in inflation-adjusted terms.