FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Global equities profit from US earnings season

Global equities profit from US earnings season

Global stock prices rose on Tuesday on the back of solid second-quarter US corporate earnings which temporarily took investor attention off festering trade wars, dealers said.

"Global equity bulls were lingering in the vicinity during Tuesday's trading session as investors diverted some attention from trade war concerns to focus on strong US corporate earnings," said Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at FXTM.

Key European stock markets were higher at the close as shares in energy firms surged along with oil prices, which were in turn boosted by US President Donald Trump re-imposing stiff sanctions on major crude producer Iran.

US stocks also advanced, with Tesla Motors shares rocketing 11 percent higher after chief executive Elon Musk signaled he hopes to take the electric car maker private.

Other large US technology companies also gained, including Amazon, Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft.

Still, the outlook for Wednesday's session looked uncertain. After the stock market closed, the US government announced that the first round of President Donald Trump's 25 percent punitive tariffs on China will hit $50 billion in goods starting August 23.

Although the move was expected, it cements the view that there appears to be no effort underway to defuse the dispute between the world's two largest economies.

'Rising tide'

But equities finished broadly higher on upbeat sentiment over earnings.

"Earnings season is shaping up very well indeed, which accounts for why US equities remain comfortably ahead of the likes of Europe, but a rising tide lifts all boats and will reinforce the impression that this economic recovery and its associated bull market has further to run," said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.

As investors awaited the next chapter in the long-running trade dispute, they moved in to pick up cheaper stocks in Asia, too.

Hong Kong was up 1.5 percent as it built on Monday's gains. Shanghai surged to close 2.7 percent higher, a day after hitting a near two-and-a-half-year low. Tokyo jumped 0.7 percent and Singapore 1.8 percent.

Key figures at 2130 GMT

New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.5 percent at 25,628.91 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 2,858.45 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.3 percent at 7,883.66 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 7,718.48 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.4 percent at 12,648.19 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 5,521.31 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 3,504.37 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 22,662.74 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.5 percent at 28,248.88 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.7 percent at 2,779.37 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1597 from $1.1554 at 2130 GMT

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2938 from $1.2944

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.37 yen from 111.40 yen

Oil - Brent Crude: UP 90 cents at $74.65 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 16 cents at $69.17 per barrel

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