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Category: Stockmarket / Currency / Futures / Markets

Wall St snaps eight-day losing streak

05:57 UTC+8 March 29, 2017 | Lucia Stein

Wall Street rose on an unexpectedly strong consumer confidence reading. (Brendan McDermid,file photo: Reuters)

Wall Street has broken its eight-day losing streak, gaining ground overnight after some strong consumer data drove investor optimism in financial stocks.

Markets at 8:00am (AEDT):

  • ASX SPI 200 futures +0.22pc to 5,826
  • AUD: 76.33 US cents, 61.26 British pence, 84.81 Japanese yen, 70.57 euro cents, $NZ1.08
  • US: S&P 500 +0.72pc to 2,358, Dow Jones +0.73pc to 20,701, Nasdaq +0.6pc to 5,875
  • Europe: Euro Stoxx +0.83pc to 369.84, FTSE +0.68pc to 7,343, DAX +1.3 to 12,149
  • Commodities: Gold -0.23pc to $US1,251.28/ounce, Brent crude oil -1.2pc to $US51.38

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose solidly after a survey on Tuesday revealed consumer confidence in the US economy rose in March.

NAB economist David de Garis wrote in analyst note that a number of other factors may have contributed to the gains in global markets overnight.

"Getting toward the end of the month and the end of the quarter, and given the torpor of risk assets markets of late, the return of some buying could easily have occurred," he said.

But most analysts have credited a "super-charged" report on the state of US consumer confidence with lifting market sentiment.

The Conference Board measure of consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since December 2000, increasing from 116.1 to 125.6, well above the 114 expected.

Westpac senior market strategist Imre Speizer wrote in a note that the improvement was driven by both current and future expectations, which included a surge in perceptions of jobs as plentiful instead of hard to get.

"A solid update here adds to the case for a healthier consumer story," he added.

Analysts say the survey is a reminder that the fundamentals of the US economy are strong, offsetting some of the investor unease sparked by the setback in President Donald Trump's healthcare bill on Friday.

The positivity in the market also followed an announcement from the White House that it was aiming to meet an August target date for its tax cut legislation.

European auto stocks surge

European stocks increased overnight, led by gains in banking and resource stocks.

Gains in leading German automotive manufacturing companies Continental and Volkswagen drove auto stocks higher during the session.

Investors will be closely watching events in England, with British Prime Minister Theresa May set to trigger Article 50 on Wednesday (local time), formally beginning Britain's EU exit negotiations process with Europe.

Locally, the market is on track for a steady rise at the open.

Investors are awaiting news of Cyclone Debbie's impact on some commodities with assessments on coal, as well as other infrastructure and production, yet to come.

Iron ore rose yesterday, up $US0.44 to $US82.01, while metallurgical coal was slightly higher, according to one analyst note.

The Australian dollar was rising this morning and was worth $US76.33 around 8:00am (AEDT).

At the same time, West Texas crude oil was rising to $US48.31 a barrel, a barrel of Tapis is worth $US52.36 and spot gold was down at $US1,249 an ounce.

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