Global stock markets turned higher Wednesday, extending days of volatility, as investors weighed the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak and Joe Biden’s big gains in the Democratic primaries.
China, Australia and other central banks also have cut rates to shore up economic growth in the face of anti-virus controls that are disrupting trade and manufacturing. But economists warn that while cheaper credit might encourage consumers, rate cuts cannot reopen factories that have closed because of quarantines or lack of raw materials.More reductions may give “limited support,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a report.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 future rose 2.1% and that for the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.8%.On Wednesday in Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6% to 3,011.67 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.1% to 21,100.06. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.2% to 26,222.07. A smaller yield — the difference between the market price and what investors receive if they hold the bond to maturity — indicates traders are shifting money into bonds as a safe haven out of concern about the economic outlook.