Global Stocks end higher after FED points towards taper
U.S. Stocks ended higher after Fed points towards Taper talks. The S&P 500 ended up by 0.95%, the Dow jones by 1.00%, and Nasdaq by 1.02%. The Federal Reserve’s upbeat tone on the economic recovery, and suggestion that the timing of the tapering process of its asset purchase program would come largely in-line with market expectations, helped sustain a rally in risk assets during Wednesday’s session. Yields on 10-year U.S. treasury declined by 2 bps to 1.30%. Today, investor eyes are on Initial Jobless Claims, forecasted at 320K.
Asian shares made gains this morning, which was supported by some positive news from cash-strapped developer China Evergrande Group. China’s Shanghai Composite rose by 0.5%, as well as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng by 0.7%.
Similarly, European stocks rose on Wednesday after debt-laden developer China Evergrande said it would make some interest payments, while investors awaited a signal from the U.S. Federal Reserve on how and when it will rein in its massive stimulus. Evergrande’s Frankfurt-listed shares jumped 41% after hitting multi-year lows in the previous session. The Europe-wide STOXX 600 index rose 1%, extending Tuesday’s bounce after its worst session in two months, with commodity-linked stocks and banks leading gains. Germany stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Industrials, Insurance and Media sectors led shares higher while losses in the Retail, Transportation & Logistics and Software sectors led shares lower. At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX added 1.03%, while the MDAX index climbed 0.63%, and the TecDAX index lost 0.29%. France stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares higher. At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 gained 1.29%, while the SBF 120 index gained 1.22%
The Russian stock market ended trading on an optimistic mood amid the recovery of external stock exchanges and the commodity market on the news from the Chinese developer Evergrande. The Moscow Exchange index grew by 1.52% and amounted to 4030.98 points. The RTS index jumped 2.13% to 1,747.31 points.
Oil prices extended gains on Thursday, riding higher on growing fuel demand and a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories as production remains hampered in the Gulf of Mexico after two hurricanes. The market was also supported by a broad plunge back into risk assets as concerns eased over a potential default by huge property developer China Evergrande and its possible fallout on the world’s second-largest economy. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.48 a barrel by 0552 GMT, while Brent crude rose 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $76.45 a barrel.