By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set to climb
on Tuesday as confidence in an economic recovery pushed the
Nasdaq benchmark to a record high, although doubts about crude
supply cuts were likely to keep oil prices under pressure.
Markets have been encouraged by a May U.S. jobs report last
week that showed a surprise fall in the unemployment rate,
bolstering views that the worst of the downturn is over and that
the economy was moving towards a quick rebound.
"The jobs report blew away expectations and the numbers were
unparalleled in history," said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great
Hill Capital in New York. "We're starting to see in the market
the magnitude and speed of U.S. government intervention and the
market is now looking through the short-term negative numbers
from GDP towards a much stronger recovery."
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 were up 0.67% and
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI .HSIc1 rose 0.52%.
However, Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1 were down 0.04%.
The Nasdaq hit a record high close on Monday, becoming the
first of Wall Street's three main indexes to bounce back from
the market crash caused by the pandemic. Financial, automotive and retail-oriented and energy shares
- the stocks most beaten-down since the pandemic slammed markets
- have been leading equity indices higher recently.
U.S. stocks also added to gains late in the trading session
after the Federal Reserve eased the terms of its "Main Street"
lending program to encourage more businesses and banks to
participate.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
1.7%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.20% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 1.13%.
Oil prices fell after Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz
bin Salman said on Monday that the kingdom and Gulf allies
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates would not cut an extra 1.18
million bpd in July as they are doing this month. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and others
had on Saturday agreed to sustain cuts equal to about 10% of
global oil supply. U.S. benchmark crude CLc1 fell $1.36 a barrel to settle at
$38.19 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 settled down $1.50 at
$40.80 a barrel.
In currency market, the dollar slid and commodity currencies
gained as risk appetite ramped up. The New Zealand dollar rose
to its highest in nearly four months after the government said
it had stopped local transmission of the coronavirus.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.053%, with the euro EUR= up
0.02% to $1.1294.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.01% versus the greenback at
108.44 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.2733, up 0.09% on the day.
Yields on top-rated German government bonds dipped but
remained near more than two-month highs hit last week on the
back of improving sentiment in world markets.
U.S. Treasury yields also fell, with the 10-year note
US10YT=RR down 2.8 basis points at 0.8785%.
Gold rose after a steep decline, boosted by hopes of a
dovish monetary policy outlook from the Federal Reserve after
the U.S. central bank ends a two-day meeting on Wednesday.
Investors are now seeking clarity from Fed Chair Jerome
Powell on monetary and fiscal policies.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled up 1.3% at $1,705.1 an
ounce.
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