By David Randall
NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - World stock markets hit their
highest levels since March and oil prices jumped on Tuesday as
signs of a global economic recovery from the coronavirus
pandemic offset concerns over the worst civil unrest in the
United States in decades.
Despite those gains, investors were hesitant to move away
from the perceived safety of government bonds, which edged lower
but remained near record highs.
"In a way, it is remarkable that the market remains in this
positive mood," said Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at
Rabobank. "Even with these rising protests in the U.S. and the
situation in Hong Kong at the moment, the market is pushing on
and seeing room for optimism."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.72% following broad advances in Europe and Asia. The
index remains down about 8.5% for the year to date.
In morning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI rose 142.61 points, or 0.56%, to 25,617.63, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 10.38 points, or 0.34%, to 3,066.11 and
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 7.15 points, or 0.07%, to
9,559.20.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now only 3% from its pre-pandemic
record highs. .N
May Purchasing Managers Index data pointed to a fragile but
encouraging recovery in global manufacturing, raising hopes that
the worst is over, while reports that Germany was considering a
stimulus plan to boost car sales lifted European stocks.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 1.2% to its highest since late
February and markets in Seoul .KS11 , Taipei .TWII , Hong Kong
.HSI and China .SS also gained as the Chinese central bank
there provided another shot of stimulus. Bond investors remained more cautious that the global
economy had fully turned a corner. Benchmark 10-year notes
US10YT=RR last fell 4/32 in price to yield 0.6738%, from
0.662% late on Monday.
"This optimistic read for risk can only persist if measures
like orders and employment continue to improve month to month,"
said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at Deutsche
Bank.
"Early setbacks would be a very poor sign, but are not
expected in the period immediately following the end of
lockdowns."
The dollar was at multi-month lows against most major
currencies following a 5% drop for its main index =USD since
March. FRX/
"The protests are part of the reason for the sell-off in the
dollar over the last four or five days," said CMC Markets senior
analyst Michael Hewson.
Some U.S. demonstrators, angered over the recent death of
the unarmed African American, George Floyd, while in police
custody, had set fire to a mall in Los Angeles overnight, looted
stores in New York, and at least five U.S. police had been hit
by gunfire in separate incidents. Hopes for rising demand from an economic rebound boosted oil
prices. U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 1.35% to $35.92 per
barrel and Brent LCOc1 was at $38.70, up 0.99% on the day.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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