Thursday, 4 June 2020
- Asia stocks edge higher as optimism remains over economic recovery from coronavirus pandemic
- U.S. dollar’s shine fading, but risk high of rush to safe havens
- Oil prices fall on concerns supply to rise as producers wrangle on cuts
Stocks in Asia nudged higher in Thursday morning trade as optimism over the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continued to keep investor sentiment afloat.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mostly higher early trade, with the Shenzhen component adding 0.35% while the Shenzhen composite was up 0.295%. In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and Topix indexes added 0.25% each. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.89% in morning trade, adding to its nearly 3% Wednesday surge. Meanwhile, shares in Australia also rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.65%.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 527.24 points to close at 26,29.89 while the S&P 500 gained 1.4% to end its trading day at 3,122.87. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8% to 9,682.91.
A fading of the U.S. dollar’s allure will continue as global funding strains ease, but a majority of analysts polled by Reuters said there was a high risk that the U.S.-China trade standoff will renew safe-haven bets in the next six months.
The euro , which rose above $1.12 for the first time in 11 weeks on Wednesday, was on track for a seven-day winning streak against the dollar – its longest since December 2013.
Oil prices fell on Thursday, reversing gains in the previous session, on concerns that supply will rise if major producers are unable to agree to extend the depth of output cuts that have supported recent gains.
Brent crude futures fell 1%, or 41 cents, to $39.38 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 1.6%, or 61 cents, to $36.68 a barrel.
Source : Reuters
