International markets roundup: ASX up 1.5 per cent
The latest news from international markets: Australia slightly up, US stocks surge, Europe’s main markets fall, and Asian shares close mixed.
AUSTRALIA: The Australian share market is almost 1.5 per cent higher, following Wall Street’s three per cent gains, a sign traders are shrugging off recent volatility.
IG market analyst Angus Nicholson said it was a strong start for the Aussie market, and he’s confident that the surge will continue throughout the day.
“The Chinese stock market is having less of an influence on the Aussie stocks at the moment,” he said.
“The Chinese economy is still a concern for the world economy at the moment but we’re seeing the Shanghai Composite bottom a bit, so I don’t think we’re going to see as much influence today when the Chinese stock market opens.”
Nicholson said the early gains in banking stocks were particularly encouraging as they will likely pull the market higher.
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NEW YORK – US stocks have surged, snapping a six-day losing streak prompted by a big pullback in Chinese equities that has roiled global markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 619.07 points (3.95 per cent) to 16,285.51 on Wednesday.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 72.90 (3.90 per cent) at 1,940.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index bolted up 191.05 (4.24 per cent) to 4,697.54.
US stocks opened sharply higher for the second straight day. However, unlike Tuesday, when a late-afternoon slump pushed the market into the red, US stocks picked up momentum in the afternoon and closed near session highs.
“The market has found its legs,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial. “I couldn’t tell you that the low is in place, but I am very comfortable putting my own money to work.”
LONDON – Europe’s main stock markets fell Wednesday as investors remained wary after a choppy session on Asian bourses.
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London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 1.68 per cent to close at 5,979.20 points.
In the eurozone, the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 1.4 per cent to end at
4,501.05, points, and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 fell 1.29 per cent to 9,997.43 points.
European markets rebounded in early trade on Tuesday after China cut interest rates in an attempt to boost the flagging Chinese economy, but then resumed their slide.
HONG KONG – Asian shares have closed mixed after a choppy session on Wednesday, with investors selling off Chinese stocks despite an interest rate cut.
The US dollar edged up in Tokyo, extending a rebound from this week’s heavy losses after China’s move to cut its key rates and free up cash for banks to lend spurred optimism about the world’s second-largest economy.
Tokyo surged 3.20 per cent, or 570.13 points, to close at 18,376.83 – rebounding from a six-month low in the previous session after their worst two-day plunge since 2011.
But Shanghai fell 1.27 per cent, or 37.68 points, to 2,927.29, after a day that saw it veer wildly between losses and gains of around four per cent, while Hong Kong lost 1.52 per cent, or 324.57 points, to 21,080.39.
“China did what the market was looking for … by easing policy, but it appears that the markets want more. Thanks, but we are not quite happy yet,” National Australia Bank senior currency strategist Emma Lawson said.
– AAP
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