EQUITIES
Stocks rebounded sharply from a three-year low on Tuesday, surging up to 11% higher amid positive reports that Congress will imminently reach an agreement on a pending $2 trillion fiscal stimulus bill to cushion the economic blow from coronavirus.
On Tuesday, major benchmark closes as follow:
S&P 500 Index : $2.447.33, gain 209.93 points or 9.38%
Dow Jones Industrial Average : $20,704.91, gain 2,112.98 points or 11.37%
Nasdaq Composite Index : $7,417.86, 557.18 points or 8.12%
European exchanges are not excluded in recording gains, with London's FTSE 100 up 9.05%, Germany's DAX 10.98% and France's CAC 40 gain 8.39%. Italy's closed 8.93% higher and pan-European Stoxx 600 index gain 8.40%.
Asian markets jumped Wednesday, following Wall Street's major surge overnight. Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 6%, while South Korea's KOSPI surged more than 5%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased 2.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained more than 2% in early trading, and China's Shanghai Composite was up around 2%.
OIL
Brent crude futures ended the session up 12 cents at $27.15 per barrel while WTI crude futures for May delivery rose 65 cents, to $24.01 per barrel.
Currently, Brent crude is trading at $27.97 per barrel while U.S. benchmark WTI crude trading at $24.86 per barrel, as of writing time (UTC+08.00).
CURRENCIES
Against a basket of its rivals, the dollar fell 0.28% to 101.50. It is down from a more than three-year high of 102.99 on Friday.
Against the dollar, the euro jumped 0.82% to $1.0809. The British pound also rose 1.72% to $1.1747, up from a 35-year low of $1.1413 set last week. The Australian dollar gained 1.53% to $0.5916, extending its recovery from a 17-year low of $0.5510 last week. Dollar also losses ground against most of other currencies including NOK (-0.68%), CAD (-0.42%), JPY (-0.24%), CHF (-0.24%), DKK (-0.17%), SEK (-0.14%), RUB (-0.13%).
Dollar appreciate against currencies including Singaporean dollar by Chinese yuan by 0.03% and 0.08%, respectively.
GOLD
Gold currently trading at $1,629.10 per ounce, while stands around $1,672.60 per ounce for gold futures of writing time, higher than yesterday.
Meanwhile, silver trading at $14.45, platinum trading at $723.00 and palladium trading at $1,895.00. all considerably higher than yesterday trade.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Congress closed in on a $2trillion coronavirus aid package, sending shares up around the world as investors hoped this would be the rescue plan that finally stops markets tumbling. Many airline and cruise stocks, which were some of the hardest hit by business shutdowns resulting from the coronavirus, posted major gains on Tuesday. That’s because the expected $2 trillion coronavirus relief package will allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to distressed industries such as theirs. Shares of casino operators like Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts jumped by 15.4% and 32.8%, respectively. Airlines, which have also lost billions in revenue amid widespread travel shutdowns, bounced back, too. American Airlines stock skyrocketed 35%, while Delta gained nearly 19% and United Airlines rose 24.9%.
To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has now reached more than 423,000 today affecting 197 countries and territories around the world. The death toll from the novel coronavirus has now topped 19,000 – including 782 in the U.S.
TECHNICAL OUTLOOK
[USDJPY]
Waiting for breakout.
- Uptrend if dollar strengthening and yen weaken.
- Downtrend if dollar weaken and yen strengthening.
However, looking at the ascending triangle pattern, it is highly likely for the dollar to appreciate to last month high.
