Wall Street is rallying closer to its records on following signals the US economy is holding up better than expected, with particular credit going to the country’s shoppers. The S&P 500 was up 1.6 per cent in afternoon trading and on track for a sixth-straight gain as the US stock market rights itself following a scary few weeks.
It’s back to within 2.3 per cent of its all-time high set last month after earlier falling nearly 10 per cent below it. Wall Street is surging back towards record highs.
Credit: Bloomberg The Dow Jones was up 506 points, or 1.3 per cent, in mid-afternoon trade and the Nasdaq composite was 2.3 per cent higher as Big Tech stocks recover more of their stumbles from the last month.
The Australian sharemarket is set to bounce higher, with futures at 4.50am AEST pointing to a gain of 89 points, or 1.1 per cent, at the open.
The ASX added 0.2 per cent on Thursday. Treasury yields leaped in the bond market following the encouraging economic data.
One report said US shoppers increased their spending at retailers last month by much more than economists expected, while another said fewer US workers applied for unemployment benefits. A year ago, such reports could have sent the stock market reeling on worries they would push inflation higher. But good news on the economy is once again good news on Wall Street, particularly after a report showed US employers pulled back on their hiring last month by much more than expected.
That dud of a jobs report raised wo.