By Joe McDonald
BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets rose Monday as investors shrugged off worries about rising coronavirus infections in the United States and some other countries and focused on hopes for an economic recovery.
Indexes in London and Frankfurt rose after Shanghai led a market rally in Asia earlier. Wall Street futures also rose.
Markets carried momentum from last week after unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs data despite some American states reporting record new coronavirus infections. In Europe, retail sales rebounded in May in the 19 countries that use the euro, while car sales in Britain picked up in June as lockdown measures were eased.
The FTSE 100 in London rose 1.7% to 6,263 and Frankfurt’s DAX added 1.6% to 12,727. The CAC 40 in France advanced 1.6% to 5,084.
On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index was up 1.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.3%.
The S&P 500 ended a shortened last week up 4% before closing Thursday for a three-day holiday weekend. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5% to a new record. The Dow gained 0.4%.
U.S. shares have rallied despite a surge in new cases in the populous U.S. states of Florida, Texas and California. That has prompted some governors to halt reopening of businesses or to order others to re-close.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 5.7% to 3,332.88 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.8% to 22,714.44. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 3.8% to 26,339.16.
The Kospi in Seoul rose 1.6% to 2,187.93 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.7% to 6,014.60. India’s Sensex gained 1.4% to 36,531.56 and New Zealand, Singapore and Jakarta also gained.
Investors in Asia are looking ahead to interest rate decisions in Australia and Malaysia. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.25% while forecasters expect another cut from Bank Negara Malaysia.
Markets also are watching an election in Singapore and possible unrest in Hong Kong over a security law.
Share prices have risen as some countries ease anti-virus measures and reopened businesses. Forecasters warn the surge might be too early to be sustained by uncertain economic conditions.
Whether the rally can be sustained “is hugely dependent on how markets react if improving data stabilizes or goes into reverse,” said Stephen Innes of AxiCorp in a report.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude shed 13 cents to $40.52 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 34 cents in London to $43.14 per barrel.
The dollar was steady at 107.52 yen, while the euro gained to $1.1321 from $1.1243 on Friday.
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Source: AP News
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