Dow closes above 21000
US stock indices closed at new record highs on Wednesday with market sentiment boosted by conciliatory tone of President Trump’s Congress address Tuesday evening. The dollar continued strengthening following New York Fed President William Dudley’s comment the case for a rate hike has become “a lot more compelling” : the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, closed up 0.3% at 101.172. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% settling at record 2395.96 led by financial stocks, up 2.8% with nine of the S&P 500′s 11 primary sectors ending higher. The Dow Jones industrial jumped 1.5% breaching above 21000 mark to close at a record 211150.55 led by JP Morgan and American Express. The Nasdaq index closed up gained 1.4% to a record 5904.03.
Optimism about US economy lifts European stocks
European stocks closed at highest levels year to date with investor optimism buoyed by President Trump’s plans to propose Congress approve additional $1 trillion spending programs and cut taxes for corporations and middle class Americans. Both the euro and British Pound continued the slide against the dollar. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.5% to highest close since December 2015. Germany’s DAX 30 gained 2% to 112067.19. France’s CAC 40 outperformed jumping 2.1% and UK’s FTSE 100 index rose 1.6% to record high 7382.90.
Asian stocks mixed
Asian stocks are mixed today with investors digesting President Trump’s Congress address the previous day. Nikkei gained 0.9% to 19564.80 today on continued yen weakness against the dollar, with exporters benefitting from lower yen. The Shanghai Composite Index is down 0.5% on expectations of tighter credit as China's newly appointed banking regulator vowed today to strengthen supervision of the lending sector and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.2% lower. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index is up 1.2% with the Australian dollar pulling back against the dollar.
Oil prices rebound after US stockpile build
Oil futures prices are inching higher today after official data showed US crude stockpiles rose by 1.5 million barrels last week, less than expected. A strong rebound in US refining activity resulted in lower than expected build, however inventories reached a record 520.2 million barrels after eight straight weekly builds. Gasoline supplies declined by 500000 barrels. May Brent crude fell 0.3% to $56.36 a barrel on Wednesday on London’s ICE Futures exchange.