Global share markets were mixed overnight as investors assessed the prospect of additional stimulus in the US, along with subdued economic data in light of the record-breaking rally.
The S&P 500 briefly traded above its record closing high, before dipping in the afternoon to finish slightly lower. The Nasdaq eked out a small gain, however European markets traded in the red after Washington announced tariffs on European goods would continue.
Australia’s share market opened marginally higher, but the optimism was short-lived as equities declined gradually throughout the day. The ASX 200 ended the day 0.67% lower to be last quoted at 6,091 points.
ASX SPI futures trade a mere 2 points lower at 7 a.m. pointing to a flat open in Sydney.
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While Wall Street has recovered most of the trillions in market capitalisation lost during the start of the pandemic, the Nasdaq was the first of the three major indices to hit a record high in June. The S&P 500 briefly eclipsed is own record this week, but the Dow remains below its peak.
It’s a different story in most other markets as indices in Asia and Europe remain well below their all-time highs. However, the 5-month global rally has caused MSCI’s world index to rise a staggering 50% from its March lows and reach within 2% of an all-time high – largely driven by the US market.
In Asia Japanese stocks were the main mover in overnight trade, jumping 1.78% to a six-month high. The Nikkei closed the day at 23,249.61 points.
The Hang Seng traded relatively flat, down only 0.05% to 25,230.67 points.
European markets underperformed most of its peers, after the US government said it would maintain 15% tariffs on planes and 25% tariffs on other European goods.
The STOXX 600 index suffered its first fall in five days. The pan-European index lost 0.63%, weighed down by a 0.5% fall in Germany and a 1.5% slump of UK shares.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.14%.
In commodity markets we saw gold rebounding after this week’s pullback. The precious metal rebounded 0.74% to US$1,963.4 an ounce.
Oil prices traded mostly lower after the International Energy Agency lowered its 2020 oil demand. West Text Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.8%, however Brent managed to post a small gain.