· Wall Street jumps on strong services sector, hopes of China recovery
U.S. stocks rose sharply on Monday as a rebound in U.S. services industry activity in June and expectations of a revival in China’s economy boosted optimism, helping investors look past a surge in new coronavirus cases in the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 459.67 points, or 1.78%, to 26,287.03, the S&P 500 gained 49.71 points, or 1.59%, to 3,179.72 and the Nasdaq Composite added 226.02 points, or 2.21%, to 10,433.65.
Investors also bet on an improving Chinese economy and its impact on the global growth as the yuan led commodity currencies higher against the dollar. Earlier, Chinese stocks jumped more than 5%.
A slew of upbeat U.S. data recently, including a record rise in monthly payrolls, has powered the Nasdaq to all-time highs and has driven the S&P 500 up more than 40% from its March 23 closing low.
The gains came despite a record surge in new COVID-19 cases in 16 states in the United States this month that could further hamper reopening plans and create a risk to the economic recovery.
· Stock futures rise slightly following a strong rally on Wall Street
Stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading on Monday after a solid rally on Wall Street to start the week.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points, while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.1% The Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.4%.
· European stocks close higher as banks lead rally; Stoxx 600 up 1.6%
European markets closed higher Monday as investors focused on the prospect of economic recovery and progress on potential coronavirus drugs, shrugging off concerns about a further acceleration of the pandemic.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed almost 1.6% higher, with banks jumping 3.9% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses entered positive territory.
The European Commission said Friday that conditional approval had been granted for Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir to be used in the EU, making it the first authorized treatment for the virus in the region. The Sunday Times newspaper then reported that the U.K. is closing in on a £500 million ($624 million) supply deal with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline for 60 million doses of a potential vaccine.
The World Health Organization said Saturday that more than 200,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed worldwide over a 24-hour period – a new record – with the Americas accounting for around 130,000 new cases. In the U.S., Florida and Texas reported record increases in new daily cases on Saturday, while cases rose in 39 states.
· Asia Pacific stocks trade mixed as investors await Reserve Bank of Australia rate decision
Stocks in Asia Pacific traded mixed on Tuesday morning as investors await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision.
In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.31% while the Topix index shed 0.33%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.77%, with shares of LG Chem up more than 3%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.95%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.23% higher.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to announce its interest rate decision at about 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.
“The RBA this afternoon can confidently expected to be on hold as it continues to assess the outlook, where even in its best-case upside scenario, full economic recovery will take years,” Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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