“Asia Pacific markets are set to finish the week on a high following strong leads from European and USA investors”, wrote Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. Banks and health care companies also weighed on the market, while consumer-focused stocks bucked the trend.
Advertisement
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 136 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,631 as of 1:05 p.m.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 stock index also jumped, climbing 0.85 percent to its highest close since late May. The Nasdaq composite index gained 10 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,215. The robust earnings season pushed both the S&P and Nasdaq to fresh intra-day records before they pulled back.
“We’re still down year-over-year for the quarter, but there’s a growing conviction that the headwinds from the energy bust and strong dollar are increasingly fading”, said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas. In the absence of major economic news, investors monitored company earnings. Looking ahead, investors will keep an eye on US retail sales figures due later in the week.
Perrigo sank 9.6 percent after the pharmaceuticals company cut its guidance for the year, citing growing competition and falling prescription drug prices. J.C. Penney rose 85 cents, or 9.3 percent, to $10.
WHERE’S THE REVENUE: Wendy’s fell 1.5 percent after the hamburger chain said a key sales measure fell sharply in its latest quarter.
Hong Kong shares rose 0.9 percent to their highest level in more than eight months, up 2.8 percent this week. Natural gas fell a penny to $2.55 per 1,000 cubic feet.
EATING IT UP: Brinker International jumped 13.9 percent after the owner of the Chili’s Bar & Grill and Maggiano’s Little Italy chains reported strong quarterly results. The stock added $4.72 to $37.36.
Clothing company Ralph Lauren surged 8.5 percent after it too delivered strong quarterly results.
GLOBAL MARKETS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 0.4 percent, while France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.4 percent.
ASIA’S DAY: Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent to 16,735.12 despite a report showing private sector machinery orders rebounded in June from May.
In Korea, the Kospi added 0.08% to close near flat at 2,050.47, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished up 0.83% at 22,766.91.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.2% despite a swath of economic data that missed expectations. Stocks in Taiwan and Singapore also were higher, but markets in China, Indonesia and New Zealand declined.
Crude oil futures are down 0.34% to $43.34 to erase an early gain after Saudi Arabia indicated it would cooperate with other oil producers on pricing. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 3 cents to $41.68 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price global oils, was down 81 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $44.18 per barrel in London.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline slipped 4 cents to $1.30 a gallon, while heating oil lost a penny to $1.32 a gallon. General Growth Properties fell $1.14, or 3.7 percent, to $29.58, while Simon Property Group shed $5.01, or 2.3 percent, at $213.97.
Advertisement
METALS: The price of gold rose $5.20, or 0.4 percent, to $1,351.90 an ounce. The CSI300 index rose 1.3 percent, heading for gains of nearly 2.2 percent this week, while the Shanghai Composite climbed 1 percent, poised to end the week 1.9 percent higher. Retail sales were up 10.2 percent in July versus a forecast of 10.5 percent, while fixed asset investment growth eased to 8.1 percent on-year in the January-July period, with the market expecting the number to come in at 8.8 percent, said Reuters.
