OPENING CALL: The Australian share market opened higher.
OPENING CALL: The Australian share market opened higher.
GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, and Sanofi, the fourth largest, are joining forces to develop a coronavirus vaccine that, if successful, could pump out
hundreds of millions of doses by the second half of 2021.
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo set aside billions of additional dollars to get ready for a flood of customers to default on their loans as the coronavirus pandemic pummels the economy.
Australian Market
US Market
U.S. stocks surged as investors looked ahead to the eventual reopening of the economy, even as earnings reports from big banks indicated that the coronavirus is taking a toll.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 560 points, or 2.4%, continuing last week’s historic rally. The S&P 500 jumped 3.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 4%. The gains gave the blue-chip index its fourth advance in the past six trading days. Stocks have charged higher on signs that the coronavirus pandemic is slowing in hard-hit locations-so much so that two groups of governors began discussing this week how they would gradually ease social-distancing guidelines. No timeline has been set. Still, the Dow industrials are down roughly 20% from their mid-February high.
Commodities
Gold futures tallied a fourth straight session climb, gaining support from concerns about weakness in the global economy, as well as in corporate quarterly results,
due to the cessation of business activity intended to stem the spread of COVID-19. Some weakness in the U.S. dollar also provided a lift to bullion, even as stocks, which
tend to move in the opposite direction to haven metals, rose.
Gold for June delivery on Comex climbed by $7.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,768.90 an ounce after hitting an intraday peak at $1,788.80. The settlement and peak were the
highest values for a most-active contract since October 2012, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Oil Futures
Oil futures lost ground, weighed down by a global glut of crude as demand slumps due to the disruptions to travel and trade resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and a month-long price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that was ended over the weekend with an agreement by major producers to cut output.
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell $1.34, or 6%, to $21.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices on pace to settle at their lowest since April 1. June Brent crude was off $1.50, or 4.9%, at $30.19 a barrel on ICE Europe.
Forex
The WSJ Dollar Index was down 0.57 to 92.93.
European Markets
Asian Markets
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index closed 1.7% higher at 1857.08, as China’s better-than-expected March trade data helped boost investor sentiment. Chemicals,
construction and shipbuilding stocks led the gains. The Chinese data could be indicating that the global economy has endured the impact of the pandemic better than previously thought and China takes a quarter of Korea’s exports. Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Index closed 2.6% higher at 2634.57, as China’s better-than-expected March trade data spurred optimism.
Mainland China shares closed higher, recovering from losses in the previous session. Electronic suppliers and new-energy stocks led the gains, after Tesla shares surged 14% overnight in a broad rally among U.S. technology firms. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.6% higher at 2827.28, and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 2.2% to settle at 1745.42. The ChiNext Price Index, which measures the performance of emerging industries and startups, gained 3.2% to 1985.43.
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