· Dow rises more than 100 points in rebound from 3-year low, tech and energy shares lead
Stocks closed higher Thursday, erasing steep losses from earlier in the day as strong gains in big-tech shares led to a sharp turnaround.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 188.27 points, or nearly 1% to 20,087.19. The S&P 500 was up 0.5% at 2,409.39 while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 2.3% surge to 7,150.58. Shares of Netflix and Facebook rose 5.3% and 4.2%, respectively. Amazon gained 2.8%.
Earlier in the session, the Dow was down 721 points, or more than 3%. The S&P 500 briefly fell more than 3% as well.
· European shares close 3% higher in rocky session after ECB, BOE stimulus
European markets closed higher Thursday, after fluctuating for much of the session, with investors monitoring the coronavirus outbreak and digesting new policy announcements from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BOE).
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 2.9% after rebounding either side of the flatline throughout the day. Telecoms stocks jumped 5% to lead gains while basic resources fell 0.4%.
The Bank of England announced another surprise interest rate cut on Thursday afternoon and ratcheted up its bond-buying program, in an effort to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
· Australia stocks jump 3%; investors await China’s loan prime rate release
Stocks in Asia Pacific rose in morning trade as investors await the release of China’s benchmark lending rate, expected later on Friday.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 3.02% as almost all the sectors advanced, with the heavily weighted financial subindex up more than 5%.
South Korean stocks, which saw heavy losses on Thursday, also saw gains on Friday morning as the Kospi advanced 1.58%. Earlier in the session, the index had jumped more than 3%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.69% higher.
Markets in Japan are closed on Friday for a holiday.
The monthly fixing of China’s Loan Prime Rate (LPR) is expected to be out around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Friday. Reuters reported Thursday, citing a survey of traders and analysts, that the benchmark lending rate is expected to be cut.
Meanwhile, developments on the ongoing global coronavirus outbreak will continue to be watched, with markets seeing wild moves in recent days as investors continue to weigh the disease’s potential economic impact.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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