Another solid rise in the main stock indicators in the US stock exchanges was observed at the closing of trading on Thursday. New records have been broken due to the news on the development of the COVID-19 vaccine and rapid detection tests.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 1.59% or 454.84 points, which allowed it to move to the level of 29,100.50 points. It came close to its February record closing level when it managed to reach 29,551.42 points. An increase of 1.5% in this indicator is necessary in order to break the record.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index also showed significant growth by 1.54% or 54.19 points, rising to a new record of 3,580.84 points. This is its twenty-second record high this year.
The Nasdaq Composite Index strengthened by 0.98% or 116.78 points, which also became an opportunity for it to break through another high bar and set a new record. It climbed to 12,056.44 points, which was the thirty-third highest level for this year.
Investors paid little attention to the rather controversial dynamics of the US stocks on Wednesday. Almost all indicators turned out to be somewhat weaker than experts expected. This, however, continues to hint that the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis is progressing slower than desired.
Nevertheless, there are still other factors that could determine the enthusiasm of market participants. One of which is the resumption of the negotiation process on a new financial incentive program that was paused due to the unsettling dispute between the two parties of the congress. However, the very differences between Democrats and Republicans are still unresolved which may remain as a hindrance in finalizing the decision. But the fact that the parties are again ready to sit down at the negotiating table already looks promising.
The second factor that affected the growth in the stock markets was the news on the development of the vaccine against coronavirus infection. According to some reports, the drug may begin to be available to the public by the end of this year. All attention is now focused on the last stage of clinical trials. If they go well, then the release of the vaccine will not take long. So far, no negative aspects have been revealed during the tests, which speaks of the safety and effectiveness of the drug being developed.
To date, the total number of COVID-19 cases around the globe has alredy reched 26 million with 859,000 total number of deaths.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Labor realeased its monthly unemployment report. The number of jobs in the private sector increased by 428,000 in the last month of summer. However, this growth did not meet the expectations of analysts, who estimated an increase of 900,000 jobs. Nevertheless, the progress remains significant since in the second month of summer the number of jobs increased by only 212,000. This means that in a month the figure has almost doubled.
The data on the number of orders from industrial enterprises is also very positive. During the second month of summer, there was an increase of 6.4% in comparison with the previous data. In this case, the rise was recorded for the third time in a row. Real figures were higher than preliminary forecasts which mostly indicated an increase of no more than 6%.
Now all the attention of market participants is directed to the release of statistics on the unemployment rate in the US in the last month of the summer. All changes will be announced this Friday.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets mostly traded in the green zone on Thursday morning. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.02% which allowed it to come close to its maximum value, which was last recorded at the end of winter this year. This is despite some negative statistics on the country's economy. The index of business activity in the service sector over the last month of the summer slightly moved down from 45.4 points to 45 points. Note that the indicator cannot rise above 50 points in any way. This has been happening for seven months in a row, which indicates a deterioration in business activity in this area.
At the same time, the composite PMI index was revised and increased to 45.2 points, while earlier its value was indicated at about 44.9 points. In the last month of summer, the indicator was able to climb to its highest level this year.
China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.21% Thursday morning. The Hong Kong index also decreased by 0.54%. The statistics on the country's economy are not impressive. The PMI in China's services sector declined and reached 54 points which was previously at 54.1 points. The only good news is that the indicator still remains above the strategically important mark of 50 points, which indicates its growth, albeit weakening. The composite index of business activity in the country increased to 55.1 points which was previously at 54.5 points.
South Korea's Kospi Index jumped 1.25% allowing it to consolidate near its two-year highs.
Australia's S & P / ASX 200 rose 0.82%. However, the country's foreign trade surplus turned out to be lower in the second month of summer, which pushed it to the level of 4.61 billion Australian dollars. Earlier this figure was about 8.15 billion. Preliminary data was slightly better with an estimated decrease of at least 5.4 billion. Exports in the country also fell by 4% and reached their lowest values for the last two years. Its current level is around 34.49 billion Australian dollars. Imports, on the other hand, increased by 7% and moved to $ 29.89 billion.
