Stock markets across the globe managed to rise on Tuesday, riding out sharp swings on Wall Street as mixed corporate earnings results and dramatic moves in oil prices delivered yet another dose of investor jitters.Conflicting measures and warnings on the coronavirus pandemic cast an uneasy tone.
Plans to ease major economies out of coronavirus lockdowns were continuing even as experts issued fresh warnings against reopening too soon. A predictive model showed the outbreak could take more than 74,000 U.S. lives by August, compared with an earlier forecast of 67,000, if the lockdown were to be lifted too early.
U.S. crude futures endured a day of wild trading, rising as much as 7% and falling 20%. BP’s quarterly profit tumbled by two-thirds and its debt climbed to its highest on record. The energy major maintained its dividend despite warning of exceptional uncertainty, and its shares rose 2.6%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82.68 points, or 0.34%, to 24,216.46, the S&P 500 gained 5.47 points, or 0.19%, to 2,883.95, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 41.05 points, or 0.47%, to 8,689.12.The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.68%, and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.61%.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.98%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.61% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.06%.
Oil prices were mixed with Brent hinging on sentiment about the easing of lock downs, while U.S. crude traders remained cautious as storage capacities were filling up fast. U.S. crude recently fell 0.16% to $12.76 per barrel, and Brent was at $20.65, up 3.3% on the day.
Petrocurrencies were whiplashed, too. Canada’s dollar and the Norwegian crown both recovered from early falls, with the crown gaining as much as 1.5%. Russia’s ruble bounced back as much as 0.6%, while Brazil’s battered real strengthened 1.3% along with other emerging market currencies.
The dollar dropped against a basket of peers. The dollar index fell 0.247%, with the euro up 0.08% to $1.0837. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.38% versus the greenback at 106.86 per dollar, while sterling <GBP=> was last trading at $1.2447, up 0.15% on the day.
Sweden’s central bank opted not to take its interest rates back into negative territory on Tuesday, sending its currency up 1.6% against the dollar.
Markets are looking for any forward guidance from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is due to issue a policy statement at the close of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday.Analysts said it was unlikely the Fed would make further major policy moves, given the scope and depth of its recent action to counter the economic damage caused by the novel coronavirus.
Spot gold dropped 0.4% to $1,706.93 an ounce.
