While investors expected a rebound in equities to come sooner than later, the way US stocks bounced back was surprising, with the three benchmark indexes showing the best single-day gains in months. Previously, the stock market entered a correction phase as tech-oriented Nasdaq dropped 10% from its latest ATH. On Wednesday, the index recouped a good chunk of the loss, ascending 2.71% to conclude the best session since the end of April. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 and Dow added 2.02% and 1.60%, respectively.
Apple rose more than 5% as investors returned to their bullish stance ahead of the new iPhone launch scheduled for later this year.
Tesla surged 11% after losing a fifth of the valuation as investors were disappointed to see that the S&P 500 index skipped the stock when it added three new companies.
In the last few months, tech stocks came into the spotlight amid the pandemic, which boosted volatility in the entire stock market. September and October have been traditionally volatile months, so the wild moves might not be over, especially when the US election is on the horizon.
Bulls have also reacted to the latest Financial Times report according to which British biotech firm AstraZeneca would resume its trials for the experimental COVID-19 vaccine next week. The company paused global trials due to an adverse effect.
Asian stocks are bullish on Thursday, following the rebound in US stocks. However, Asian equities are recovering in a moderate way.
At the time of writing, China’s Shanghai Composite is up 0.41%, and the Shenzhen Component has added 0.32% after jumping over 1% earlier in the session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is up 0.11% after initial losses.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 has increased by 0.89%. Recent polls suggest that Yoshihide Suga is widely expected to become the next prime minister after Shinzo Abe resigned due to health problems. Meanwhile, Japan is set to lower its coronavirus alert from the highest level, given that the number of new cases is declining.
South Korea’s KOSPI has surged 1.22%, and Australia’s ASX 200 is up 0.33%.
Given the high volatility in global equities, it’s difficult to anticipate the next move, so it remains to be seen whether the current rebound is sustainable. Investors will be closely watching the European Central Bank’s policy decision due later today. Elsewhere, the US is set to release jobless claims data.
European stocks will be mostly bullish on Thursday, judging by the mood in futures trading.
In the commodity market, oil prices are declining again after a moderate rebound on Wednesday. US crude stockpiles surprisingly rose last week, prompting investors’ fears that the supply/demand ratio becomes even more unbalanced, especially when the increasing number of COVID cases is hurting demand. The American Petroleum Institute said yesterday that US crude stockpiles increased by 3 million barrels in the week ending September 4, while analysts expected a decline by 1.4 million barrels.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is set to release weekly inventory data later today. Previously, the EIA had already reduced its 2020 global oil demand growth outlook by 210,000 barrels per day.
WTI is currently down 0.21% to trade below $38, and Brent has declined by 0.15% to $40.73.
Gold is extending its yesterday gains as the US dollar is losing ground amid the stock rebound. The metal has added 0.10% to $1,957.
In FX, the US dollar is declining amid bullish equities and ahead of the ECB meeting. The USD index is down 0.21% to 93.105.
EUR/USD is up 0.20% to 1.1827. The ECB will discuss the euro’s recent rally and whether a strong currency impacts inflation and consequently the policy. Still, analysts expect that the central bank will make no changes to its current policy.
