Global bonds head for best month since 2008 financial crisis

A Bloomberg gauge of global sovereign and corporate debt has returned 4.9% in November, heading for the biggest monthly gain since it surged 6.2% in the depths of the recession in December 2008.

November's rally is being driven by increasing speculation the Federal Reserve and its global peers have largely finished hiking interest rates and will start cutting next year. Markets price a full percentage point of reductions in the US next year, with the cycle starting in June.

Fed governor Christopher Waller helped bolster rate-cut bets on Tuesday, when he said the current level of policy looks well positioned to slow the economy and bring down inflation. Some investors, including billionaire Bill Ackman, say the easing will start even earlier than traders anticipate.