Most Asian stocks rose Monday after a record Wall Street close, while U.S. equity futures dipped as traders assessed a $20 billion wave of block trades. Oil fell after salvage teams freed a ship in the Suez Canal.
Shares were modestly higher in Japan even as Nomura Holdings Inc. slumped after warning of a possible “significant” loss arising from transactions with a U.S. client. U.S. equity futures were lower following revelations that Archegos Capital Management LLC — the family office of Bill Hwang — was behind the block trades, selling Chinese tech giants and U.S. media conglomerates amid margin calls. Chinese and Hong Kong shares shrugged off the news.
Morgan Stanley was offering a large amount of ViacomCBS Inc. shares on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the matter, the latest in a surge of block trades that began before the weekend.