Asia
With fears over a trade war between US and America easing a little, the subsequent rally in US stock markets spilled over into Asia-Pacific equities. With the Dow Jones up nearly 3% on Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up by a similar amount in percentage terms, closing at 21,317 points. The price-weighted index was the best performer in the region, while China’s CSI 300 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng posted gains of nearly 1% of the day.
Europe
A weakening in sterling, combined with renewed optimism over global equities, helped the FTSE 100 to break back above 7,000 points after a number of hesitant trading sessions in the last few weeks.
In midmorning trading the blue-chip index was up nearly 2%, led by pharmaceutical giant and dividend stalwart GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Glaxo’s shares were up nearly 6% as investors backed the purchase of Novartis’s consumer healthcare division.
In terms of eurozone exchanges, Germany’s Dax – often the subject of concentrated selling when markets fall – was the best performer in the currency Bloc.
North America
Wall Street’s strong performance at the start of the trading week showed how much trade tariff anxieties had been weighing on markets since the February selloff. Facebook’s (FB) woes have also harmed sentiment in the tech sector so the Nasdaq’s strong rebound was a predictable reaction. Facebook itself closed higher on Monday and continued to rise in after-hours trading, but the scandal over the use of data is unlikely to disappear from newspaper front pages.
To underline the strength of the tech recovery, New York-listed ecommerce firm Alibaba (BABA) was up over 5% on Monday as the firm unveiled the first car vending machine in Guangzhou, China, in partnership with Ford (F).
According to futures markets, the Dow Jones is expected to build on Monday’s rally and rise 100 points at the open.
March consumer confidence figures are in view just ahead of the opening bell.
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