New York – Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street, extending a global rally as the U.S. market bounces back from its worst week …
New York – Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street, extending a global rally as the U. S. market bounces back from its worst week in two months.
The S&P 500 rose 2.5% in the first few minutes of trading Monday.
Investors were encouraged to see that European countries were taking more steps to lift lockdowns put in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Over the weekend Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed optimism that the U. S. economy could begin to recover in the second half of the year. Once the outbreak has been contained, he said, the economy should be able to rebound “substantially.”
London and Frankfurt pushed higher, while benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Australia advanced.
That came despite Japan’s announcement that its economy contracted in the first quarter and the Trump administration’s decision to step up a technology conflict with Beijing by tightening restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Investors appear to be looking past the outbreak to a recovery despite rising infection numbers in the United States, Brazil and some other countries. Forecasters warn the latest market buoyancy might be premature and a return to normal could be some way off.
Market sentiment “will likely remain fragile” as investors weigh government stimulus plans against rising U. S.-Chinese tension and poor economic data, said Riki Ogawa of Mizuho Bank in a report.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London gained 2.
