Originally published by Rivkin Securities
US stocks have climbed again with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.8% and the S&P 500 up 0.95%. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 1.4% to a new record high of US$190 per share. The market rally was broad based with all sectors climbing although the energy sector perhaps didn’t perform as well as expected with oil prices continuing to be strong. The WTI oil price is now at US$71.44 having climbed 9% in the last month.
The gold price rallied 0.8% overnight as the strength in the US dollar finally relented. Gold is currently trading at US$1,321 per ounce while the US Dollar Index fell back to 92.72. AS a result, the Australian dollar surged back to US$0.753.
US CPI data was released late night which came out lower than expected and showed that inflation is still below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The Bank of England met last night and as expected, kept rates on hold at 0.5%. The vote to keep rates on hold wasn’t unanimous, however, with two of the nine board members voting to raise the rate and expectations are that a rate rise will occur later in the year. The bank’s growth forecasts for the year were reduced to 1.4% from 1.8% previously as a result of bad weather in March.
ASX futures are pointing to a higher open, currently up 13 points.
Data Releases:
- Canada Employment Data 10:30pm AEST