OPENING CALL: The Australian share market is to open higher.
U.S. stocks rose amid positive signs regarding President Trump’s health. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 0.77%. The WSJ Dollar Index dropped to 88.45. Oil prices followed the broader market higher. Gold rose amid dollar weakness.
Australian Market
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 stock index rose 2.6%, as investors digested a new stimulus announcement from the government ahead of its budget release.
New Zealand’s NZX-50 closed 0.6% higher, gaining for a fourth session on advances in index heavyweights a2 Milk and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
US Market
U.S. stocks rose as investors cheered signs that political uncertainty may ebb following reports of President Trump’s improving health condition.
The S&P 500 rose 1.8% as the broad market gauge followed up on gains from last week. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 2.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 466 points, or 1.7%.
Commodities
Gold futures climbed, marking their highest settlement in just over a week, with a softer U.S. dollar and fresh talk of a stimulus deal supporting prices for the metal.
Gold for December delivery rose $12.50, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,920.10 an ounce, after posting a 2.2% weekly gain to close out Friday’s run.
Oil Futures
U.S. benchmark oil prices rose 5.9% to end the session at $39.22 a barrel, marking the biggest one-day percentage gain since mid-May as the broader market rallied.
A steady strengthening of Tropical Storm Delta, as well as an oil workers strike in Norway, are also helping to lift prices.
Forex
Major currencies were mostly firmer against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.1720 to highs near US$1.1797 and was near US$1.1785 at the US close. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US71.62 cents to highs near US71.92 cents and was near US71.85 cents at the US close. But the Japanese yen eased from near 105.52 yen per US dollar to JPY105.79 and was near JPY105.75 at the US close.
European Markets
European sharemarkets were higher on Monday. The panEuropean STOXX 600 index rose by 0.8%. Shares of British engineering firm Weir Group surged 15.9% after the sale of its oil and gas division. But Cineworld shares plunged 36.2% after the world’s second-biggest cinema chain said it would close all of its UK and US movie theatres this week. The German Dax index rose by 1.1%. And the UK FTSE index gained 0.7%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto fell by 0.2% while BHP shares lost 0.1%.
Asian Markets
Japanese stocks climbed, led by especially strong gains in railway and consumer-goods stocks, amid hopes that economic activities will gradually return to normal. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.2%.
China’s markets were closed for a national holiday.
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