IG MARKETS SPONSORED POST
Stock indices across the globe swung in the past 24 hours, mostly due to the ripple of effect of General Soleimani’s assassination. In a reversal of fortune from Monday’s price action, Asian and European indices outperformed their US counterparts. The Nikkei added 1.6 per cent in a high activity day’s trade in Japan, and the DAX managed to gain 0.7 per cent. Wall Street stocks fell however, with the S&P500 dipping just shy of 0.1 per cent overnight.
The ASX200 is set-up for a practically flat open this morning, with SPI Futures pointing to a 6-point gain for the index. It’ll back up what was a strong day yesterday for the index, which managed to rally 1.35 per cent, in a thin day’s trade. The gains were very broad based, with 86.5 per cent of stocks higher for the session, and every sector finishing in positive territory. The financials sector carried most of the load, rebounding from Monday’s big losses.
A stronger USD was also responsible for a sell-off in the AUD, down 1 per cent to US68.69¢. The greenback managed to reclaim some of its recent losses, after the release of US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI data printed stronger than expected overnight. The services sector indicator was shown to have expanded to a 55.0 reading last month, beating the forecast figure of 54.5, and allaying some of the concerns elicited by last week’s US manufacturing PMI numbers that business conditions in the US economy are deteriorating.