Chinese equity benchmarks surged to their best levels in two years on Monday. Wall Street stocks followed suit and finished sharply higher overnight, with the Nasdaq scoring another record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.8%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2.2%. investors cheered fresh economic data out of the United States. The ISM non-manufacturing report on business PMI for June climbed to 57.1%, up 11.7 points from the May reading of 45.4%.
Asian markets were mostly lower on Tuesday as expanding coronavirus outbreaks dimmed hopes for a global recovery. Despite daily confirmed infection cases in Tokyo are exceeding 100 in recent days, the Japanese government continues to push for events and businesses to open gradually.
The Australian central bank left the interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, in line with what most analysts were expecting. In the statement, the RBA said that it has not acquired bonds for a while but committed to doing so when needed. Also, Governor Philip highlighted that the bank was continuing to support the economy.
European stocks pulled back from one-month highs on Tuesday amid a spread of coronavirus and ahead of the start of the second-quarter earnings season. On the data front, German industrial production increased 7.8% in May from April while economists had forecast a 10% increase.
Elsewhere, EURUSD is erasing yesterday’s gains after failed bullish attempts above 1.13. The pair retreated to the 1.1260 support zone, a break below which could open the way to 1.12. Apart from a stronger dollar, the selling pressure surrounding the common currency arrived from risk aversion coupled with weaker-than-expected economic data out of Germany.
Meanwhile, bitcoin climbed to the 50-DMA and registered fresh local highs marginally below the $9,400 area. However, BTCUSD failed to challenge this resistance and pulled back, clinging to the $9,200 figure. As long as the prices stay above the $9,000 handle, downside risks are limited.
