Australian stocks have started the day higher after falling for three consecutive sessions, while investors expect another rate hike by the Reserve Bank on Tuesday.
Key points:
- The RBA has a penchant for offering a half-percentage point rate increase
- The Dow Jones index rose 1.1 percent to 31,092, the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent to 3,825 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9 percent to 11,128.
- The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat
The ASX 200 rose 105 points or 1.6 percent to 6,647 at 10:23 a.m. EAST.
At the same time, the Australian dollar rose to 68.24 US cents.
Technology companies such as Block (+ 6.4pc), Zip (+6.3pc) and Life360 (+5.6pc) were the main drivers of initial trade.
However, Magellan was down 2.7 percent to $ 12.65 and Pendal Group was down 0.9 percent to $ 4.44.
The second half of the year began with gains in global stock indices on Friday ahead of the long U.S. holiday weekend, while 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell further since COVID-19 hit markets in March 2020.
Copper prices fell to their lowest level in 17 months.
Shares fell early in the New York session, but bounced back late to end the rise. U.S. markets are closed today for the July 4 holiday.
“It’s a Friday before a long weekend, so market movements can be a bit exaggerated,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Cardillo said he expected the stock market’s performance to improve overall during the second half of the year.
“We’ll see more green days in the second half than red ones,” Cardillo said.
The U.S. S&P 500, which closed its worst first half since 1970 on Thursday, rose 1.1%.
MSCI’s global stock index, which on Thursday recorded its largest percentage drop during the first half of the year since its inception in 1990, rose 0.4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 321.83 points, or 1.05%, to 31,097.26, the S&P 500 gained 39.95 points, or 1.06%, to 3,825.33, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 99.11 points, or 27.1%, 0.19%, or 0.19%
The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.02% and the MSCI worldwide stock indicator gained 0.4%.
Oil prices rose amid supply disruptions in Libya and planned shutdowns in Norway, which offset concerns that an economic slowdown could affect demand.
Brent crude went down, trading at $ 110.99 a barrel, at 10:22 a.m. EAST.
ABC / Reuters