World news – GLOBAL MARKETS Asia stocks slide for 5th session, silver receives retail boost

SYDNEY, February 1st (Reuters). Asian stocks fluctuated on Monday amid fears that vaccine launch issues combined with new COVID-19 strains could delay a global economic recovery that has already been incorporated into the market’s rich valuations.

MSCI’s broadest Index for stocks in the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan

.MIAPJ0000PUS

fell 0.4% after four losses in a row. Japan’s Nikkei

.N225

rebounded 0.4% after losing nearly 2% on Friday.

Futures for the

S&P 500

ESc1

lost another 0.7% in heavy trading while NASDAQ futures

NQc1

down 0.9%.

Traders also waited cautiously for new developments in the headline-grabbing battle between retail investors and funds that specialize in shorting stocks.

US hedge funds have bought and sold most stocks since more than 10 years amid wild fluctuations at GameStop Corp (NYSE:

GME

) GME.N, based on an analysis by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:

GS

) Inc. on Monday was that silver was the new target for retail volume as the metal rose 5.7% to a six-month high

XAG =

. Many analysts see this entertaining episode as a sideline compared to signs of losing momentum in the US and Europe as coronavirus lockdowns bite.

A poll from China on Sunday found that January factory activity grew the slowest in five months as the restrictions in some regions took a toll. Has the news of vaccines introduced been positive, especially given doubts as to whether they will work on new strains of COVID?

« It is these considerations, not what happens to a video game retailer on a daily basis, that are at risk « said John Briggs, global strategy director for NatWest Markets. « Much of the market valuations, especially risk, are based on the fact that we can see a light at the end of the COVID tunnel. »

There are also doubts about the future of President Joe Biden’s $ 1 aid package , US $ 9 trillion surfaced. 10 Republican senators push for $ 600 billion plan. Jitter in stocks only caused a brief ripple in bonds, with government bond yields actually rising late last week, possibly due to the borrowing tidal wave.

This quarter is a record $ 1.11 trillion in gross issuance of government bonds, up from $ 685 billion last year.

There are 10-year returns for the US early Monday

US10YT = RR

held at 1.07% and near the last 10-month high of 1.187%.

Higher yields combined with more cautious market sentiment have kept the safe haven dollar stable above its recent lows. The

Dollar index

was at 90.628 = USD after rebounding from a low of 89.206 in early January.

The euro was idle at 1.2121 USD

EUR =

That was well below its recent high of $ 1.2349 while the dollar stayed at 104.74 yen

JPY =

.

gold

It was followed by silver, which rose to $ 1,853 an ounce

XAU =

, but has repeatedly stalled around $ 1,875 resistance. GOL /

Global demand concerns kept oil prices in check. US crude oil

CLc1

Cut 30 cents to $ 51.90 a barrel while Brent crude

LCOc1

The futures fell 20 cents to $ 54.84. OR

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