· Wall Street closes sharply higher on signs of economic rebound
Wall Street rallied broadly on Wednesday with the Nasdaq approaching record highs as signs of an economic recovery from mandated shutdowns helped investors look beyond U.S. social unrest and pandemic worries.
Financials, industrials and tech pushed the three major U.S. stock indexes well into the black. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each posted their fourth straight day of solid gains.
A spate of grim economic data was not as bad as economists feared, with ADP reporting many fewer private-sector job cuts in May than expected.
Market participants now await the U.S. Labor Department’s more comprehensive May jobs report, which is expected to show unemployment soaring to a historic 19.7%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 527.24 points, or 2.05%, to 26,269.89, the S&P 500 gained 42.05 points, or 1.36%, to 3,122.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 74.54 points, or 0.78%, to 9,682.91.
· European stocks close over 2% higher as reopening optimism outweighs U.S. unrest
European stocks marched higher Wednesday as optimism over the reopening of major economies outweighed investor fears over widespread protests in the U.S.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by more than 2% provisionally, with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Insurance stocks were the best performers, gaining over 6%.
Investors around the world are keeping an eye on continuing unrest in the U.S. in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, while he was in the custody of the Minneapolis police last week.
· Asia stocks rise as optimism remains over economic recovery from coronavirus pandemic
Stocks in Asia rose in Thursday morning trade as optimism over the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continued to keep investor sentiment afloat.
South Korea’s Kospi led gains among the region’s major markets as it rose 1.76% in early trade, adding to its nearly 3% Wednesday surge.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 1.06% while the Topix index advanced 0.85%.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia also rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.89%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.41% higher.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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