Asia Morning US Stocks Surge on Virus Vaccine Hopes

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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Asia Morning: US Stocks Surge on Virus Vaccine Hopes

On Monday, U.S. stocks soared after Drug-maker Moderna (MRNA +19.96%) reported positive results for a coronavirus vaccine trial.

While lockdowns continued to ease nationwide, market sentiment was also boosted by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments over the weekend that the central bank still had tools to support the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 912 points (+3.9%) to 24597, the S&P 500 jumped 90 points (+3.2%) to 2953, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 179 points (+2.0%) to 9331.


Source: GAIN Capital, TradingView

Automobiles & Components (+9.23%), Energy (+7.55%) and Banks (+7.18%) sectors performed the best.

Stocks in travel-related sectors such as Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH +17.95%), United Airlines (UAL +21.13%) and Expedia (EXPE +18.62%) were top gainers within the S&P 500.

General Motors (GM +9.63%), Ford (F +8.37%), Best Buy (BBY +10.88%) and FedEx (FDX +10.85%) also gained big.

On the technical side, about 26.2% (26.6% in the prior session) of stocks in the S&P 500 Index were trading above their 200-day moving average, and 38.6% (37.8% in the prior session) were above their 20-day moving average.

Later today, U.S. official data on Housing Starts for April (a decline to an annualized rate of 904,000 units expected) will be released.

European stocks also saw beefy gains, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index surging 4.1%. Germany's DAX soared 5.7%, France's CAC jumped 5.2%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 4.3%.

U.S. Treasury prices eased further, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield advanced to 0.741% from 0.640% Friday, the highest level in over five weeks.

Spot gold price halted a four-session rally as it retreated 10 dollars (-0.6%) to $1,730 an ounce.

Oil prices kept showing upward momentum, as U.S. WTI crude oil futures (June) charged 8.1% higher to $31.82 a barrel.

On the forex front, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.8% on day to 99.62, while promising trial results from Moderna's coronavirus vaccine lifted investors' risk appetite.

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