BEIJING (AP) – Global stocks and United States (US) futures rose yesterday after Wall Street rebounded from a seven-week string of declines and China eased anti-virus curbs on business activity in Shanghai and Beijing.
London and Frankfurt opened higher. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Oil stayed above USD110 per barrel.
The future for Wall Street’s S&P 500 index was 0.9 per cent higher after the benchmark last Friday ended up 6.6 per cent for the week after surging inflation declined.
US markets were closed yesterday for a holiday.
“Markets rallied into the long weekend, providing a positive tone at the start of this week,” ING economists said in a report.
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.4 per cent to 7,613.78 and the DAX in Frankfurt advanced 0.7 per cent to 14,564.68. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.8 per cent to 6,565.13. In Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average future was up 0.7 per cent.
On Friday, the S&P gained 2.5 per cent, propelled by gains for tech companies.
Investors were relieved after Commerce Department data showed US inflation, which has prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, decelerated to 6.3 per cent over a year earlier in April, its first decline in 17 months.
Markets are worried about whether the Fed can control inflation that is running at a four-decade high without tipping the biggest global economy into recession.
The US market has been in a slump for the past two months over fears about interest rate hikes that might slow economic activity, and the impact of the Ukraine war and a Chinese economic slowdown.
The Dow rose 1.8 per cent and the Nasdaq, dominated by tech stocks, gained 3.3 per cent.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6 per cent to 3,149.06 after more factories and shops in Beijing and Shanghai were allowed to re-open. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo surged 2.2 per cent to 27,369.43 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 2.1 per cent to 21,123.93. The Kospi in South Korea advanced 1.2 per cent to 2,669.66.
Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was 1.4 per cent higher at 7,286.60.
India’s Sensex added 1.8 per cent to 55,856.06. New Zealand and Southeast Asia markets gained.
More factories, shops and other businesses are allowed to re-open this week in Shanghai and in the Chinese capital, Beijing, after authorities declared outbreaks under control. The Shanghai city government promised rent and tax cuts, faster approvals for construction projects and more subsidies for electric car purchases.
In energy markets, benchmark US crude rose 44 cents to USD115.53 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, advanced 48 cents to USD116.04 per barrel in London.
The dollar edged up to JPY127.34 yen from Friday’s JPY127.10.
