Australian market modestly higher
Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday, extending the winning streak of seven previous sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,600 level to fresh all-time highs, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, even as the country struggles to contain the domestic coronavirus situation, primarily in New South Wales, hindering economic activity amid lockdowns.
NSW has reported 390 new local cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest daily cases of the current outbreak, with more regional areas coming under tougher restrictions. Victoria recorded 15 new locally acquired cases, with active cases now totalling 148 across the state and the snap lockdown extended by another seven days in Melbourne area.
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Stocks rise on infrastructure prospects
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed at fresh highs Wednesday as stocks poised to benefit from a $1 trillion infrastructure package continued to rally.
Caterpillar led the Dow higher, rising along with Home Depot , Boeing, 3M and most other stocks in the blue-chip benchmark. In the S&P 500, heavy-machinery rental company United Rentals and home-construction firm PulteGroup were among the session’s biggest gainers.
Their climb marked a continuation of Tuesday’s gains following the U.S. Senate’s passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which would be one of the most substantial federal investments in roads, bridges and rails in decades. Analysts have said several of those companies, including Caterpillar and United Rentals, stand to benefit from an eventual flurry of building assuming the bill becomes law.
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Nasdaq composite index ends at 14,816.26 up 51.12 points
Thursday’s session closes with the NASDAQ Composite Index at 14,816.26. The total shares traded for the NASDAQ was over 3.85 billion. Declining stocks led advancers by 1.33 to 1 ratio. There were 1918 advancers and 2558 decliners for the day. On the NASDAQ Stock Exchange 71 stocks reached a 52 week high and 86 those reaching lows totaled. The most active, advancers, decliners, unusual volume and most active by dollar volume can be monitored intraday on theMost Active Stocks page.
The NASDAQ 100 index closed up .41 percent for the day; a total of 61.22 points. The current value is 15,088.98.
The Dow Jones index closed up .04 percent for the day; a total of 14.88 points. The current value is 35,499.85. Visa Inc.(V) had the largest percent change down (-1.39 percent) while Salesforce.com Inc(CRM) had the largest percent change gain rising 2.52 percent.
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DAX forecast: index breaks out to fresh up
The DAX Index pulled back just a bit on Wednesday but then turned around to break above the 15,800 level. The 15,800 level was a previous resistance barrier, and now that we are above it, the most likely target will be 16,000 which is a large, round, psychologically significant figure. That being said, if we break above the top of the candlestick for the trading session on Wednesday, then it is likely that we will make that move.
To the downside, the market breaking down below the bottom of the candlestick for Wednesday signals that we could go looking towards the 50-day EMA underneath which is sitting right at the 15,550 level. That indicator is one that the market does pay quite a bit of attention to, so I think it would make a nice target to the downside. I would need to see a daily close below the candlestick in order to start shorting though, because stock markets continue to find one reason or another to go higher.
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Tokyo’s Nikkei index ends down on virus worries
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index closed lower on Friday as worries over rising coronavirus cases in Japan weighed on the market.
The Nikkei 225 index slid 0.14 percent, or 37.87 points, to end at 27,977.15, while the broader Topix index was up 0.15 percent, or 2.84 points, at 1,956.39.
“(The Nikkei index) rose following gains of US shares but was weighed down by rapidly expanding Covid-19 infections in Japan,” Okasan Online Securities said.
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Sensex crosses 55,300, nifty above 16,500
Benchmark Indian equity indices climbed over 0.85 percent on Friday. The Sensex was at 55,340.03, up 496.05 points or 0.90 percent, while the Nifty was 16,503.40, up 139.00 points or 0.85 percent at 12:52 pm
Indian indices touch new highs after market opening on Friday. Data released by the National Statistical Office showed retail inflation eased to 5.59 percent in July from 6.26 percent in June while the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew at 5.7 percent month-on-month and 13.6 percent year-on-year. Asian shares wavered Friday as the spread of the delta Covid-19 variant and China’s regulatory curbs restrained sentiment despite another record high close on Wall Street.
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Saudi Arabia stocks higher at close of trade
Saudi Arabia stock were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Transport, Financial Services and Energy & Utilities sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share gained 0.22 percent to hit a new 5-year high.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 133 to 65 and 10 ended unchanged.
Shares in United Int Transportation Company rose to all time highs; rising 4.11 percent or 1.95 to 49.40. Shares in Saudi Arabian Mining Company rose to all time highs; gaining 3.48 percent or 2.50 to 74.40.
Crude oil for September delivery was down 0.91 percent or 0.62 to $67.67 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 1.05 percent or 0.74 to hit $69.89 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.67 percent or 11.65 to trade at $1743.35 a troy ounce.