Market Buzz: Early China gains to drive stocks
Markets continue their upward trajectory, and look to harness gains already made on Asian floors.
“Russian stocks will start in the ‘green zone’, following
other dynamics from abroad,” Ekaterina Kondrashov, an analyst
at Investcafe, said.
Russian equities opened positive, and may gain on slightly higher
oil prices. The MICEX finished Friday session up 0.14 percent at
1,395.10 and the dollar-based RTS gained 0.34 percent to 1335.57.
Rosneft, the largest listed crude oil company gained 0.28
percent, and Gazprom, Russia’s largest natural gas producer,
dropped 0.55 percent.
Oil prices have risen in anticipation that China will officially
overcome the US as the world’s largest importer of crude,
according to a Wood Mackenzie report due later this week.
Currently, the US is the world’s biggest oil customer, and
accounts for nearly 22 percent of total oil demand.
WTI crude futures climbed 0.44 percent to $106.89 per barrel and
Brent rose to $111.23 a barrel.
Asian stocks have opened high, Chinese stocks snapping their
three-day loss. If trading remains high, positive sentiment will
translate into European and American markets as they open. The
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 0.87 percent, and the Shanghai
Composite added 1.7 percent. Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.20 percent.
European equities struggled Friday, but pulled through into
positive territory by market close. Amsterdam’s Euro Stoxx 50
gained 0.49 percent, Germany’s DAX increased 0.23 percent, and
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.25 percent.
UK floors will be closed for a bank holiday.
US equities gained, led by the NASDAQ’s Microsoft stock, which
soared following the news CEO Steven Ballmer is stepping down within the
year. This was just one day after a computer-glitch that shut down NASDAQ trading for
over three-hours on Thursday.
At the close of US trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
increased 0.31 percent, the S&P500 climbed 0.39 percent, and
the NASDAQ rose 0.52 percent.