World stocks rise, ASX to follow
Stocks across the globe rose for a fourth straight day on Thursday after US payrolls grew by a whopping 4.8 million in June. Investors also flocked to the safe-haven dollar and gold remained buoyant. Authorities, however, remain concerned about surging COVID-19 cases in many US states.
ASX SPI Futures were trading 35 points higher at 8am ahead of trade in Sydney, suggesting the ASX will likely cap off the strong week with another day in the black.
The Australian share market followed international stocks higher this week as virtually all sectors lifted in unison. On Thursday, the ASX 200 traded 1.66% higher to close at 6,032.7 points as Australian investors pushed prices sharply up amid general optimism around the prospect of a v-shaped economic recovery.
European stocks jump, US prepares for rising COVID-19 cases
Several US states, along with some other parts of the world, are reversing or pausing reopenings to tackle a recent surge in infections, leaving analysts worried about another sell-off in financial markets if the damage mounts. While the virus is a lot more contained in Australia (compared to the US), a hotel debacle earlier this week led to a second surge of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne.
Regardless, investors remain confident that world stocks should be marching towards all-time highs. For now, it is full steam ahead for the “everything rally” as high risk as well as safe haven assets rally at the same time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.39 points, or 0.36%, to 25,827.36, the S&P 500 gained 14.15 points, or 0.45%, to 3,130.01 and the Nasdaq Composite added 53.00 points, or 0.52%, to 10,207.63.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.97% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.92%. Emerging market stocks rose 2.24%.
Earlier that day, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.11%, underperforming the Asia Pacific region. The Shanghai Composite surged 2.13%.
On Thursday, oil futures prices were lifted by the US employment numbers, but gains were somewhat limited. Investors may be cautious about the prospect of oil prices as US coronavirus infections could obviously weaken economic activity in coming weeks.
US crude oil rose 1.26% to $40.32 per barrel and Brent was at $42.79, up 1.81% on the day as at 8am (AEDT).
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