Following the results of Monday's trading sesion, the US stock indices rose, the main reason of which is the steady continuation of economic recovery. Even the protests that forced the US authorities to take tough measures, as well as the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict with China, could not add negativity and pull the market down.
Today, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq increased, mainly due to the securities of Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Amazon.com. The Dow Jones Index also moved up due to the shares of Boeing Co.
The recovery of the stock market is quite rapid, which surprised most experts, since they assumed that the crisis in the market would last much longer than other sectors. Current stock market affairs are more than good already.
Even the unrest that has been going on for six nights in the US, which provoked the authorities to take tough measures against large-scale unauthorized demonstrations, could not shake investor confidence. The mass protests began after the death African American George Floyd under the hands of police officers.
Market participants are fully confident that the protests will not adversely affect the country economy, thus continuing to work actively. According to analysts, the riots, of course, are some deterrent, but they are not able to destroy the economy as did the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recent statistics on the economy also convinced investors that there is more optimism than negativity. The PMI in the US, which is a reflection of activity in the manufacturing sector, came out as 43.1 points in May, up from its previous value of 41.5 points. A value above 50 points means steady and stable growth in this sector. To date, the US has not reached this level yet, but the monthly increase suggests that it is quite possible in the near future.
The Dow Jones Index rose by 0.36% and reached 25,475.02 points, while the S&P 500 index increased by 0.38% and was at the level of 3,055.73 points. The Nasdaq index, meanwhile, recorded the highest increase of about 0.66%, which sent it to the level of 9,552.049 points.
In general, almost all sectors of the S&P 500 index were able to complete the trading session on a positive note, with the exception of the healthcare industry.
Most Asian stock indices also rose today, although moderate, but was still supported by the ongoing lifting of quarantine measures in the Asia-Pacific countries.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2%, as the securities of SoftBank Group, Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp increased in value. The securities rose by 3.9%, 0.6% and 1.7%, respectively.
Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite Index corrected mainly down, recording a slight 0.13% drop. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, on the other hand, rose slightly by 0.4%.
The decline in the Chinese index was mainly due to the news that the People's Bank of China will start repurchasing loans from some regional banks in the near future. The bank is also planning to take other measures that will allow expanding the volume of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, as part of the plan to maintain the latter, since it was most seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the regulator is going to spend about 400 billion yuan, which corresponds to 56.1 billion dollars, to buy loans.
The Hong Kong index, on the other hand, rose due to the shares of Link Real Estate Investment Trust, Geely Automobile Holdings and AAC Technologies Holdings Inc., which increased by 6%, 1.3% and 1% respectively.
The South Korean Kospi Index also rose by 0.8%, due to the 1.4% increase in the country's economy in annual terms for the first quarter of this year. The securities of Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics also moved up, increasing by 0.2% and by 1.4%, respectively.
Australia's S&P / ASX 200 Index also increased by 0.3% today, the reason for which is the decision of the RBA to keep interest rates at a critically low level of 0.25% per annum. According to managers, the Australian economy has not experienced such a crisis since the 1930s, so it is necessary to introduce measures that contribute to its faster and better recovery. The overall scale of the drop is expected to be smaller than previously expected.
Meanwhile, the stock prices of mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto are moving in different directions, as the former rose by 0.6%, while the latter declined by 0.1%.
