Global sharemarkets ended the week on Saturday morning, our time, on a strong note, with the S&P 500 back within striking distance of its record high on Wall Street, European shares at 15 year peaks and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo briefly climbing back above 20,000 for the first time since 2000.
As well the China boom continues with the Shanghai market bubbling frantically last week to new seven year highs, and then igniting a surge on the Hong market on Thursday and Friday.
In Australia, our market will start higher this morning after trading rose 20 points on the futures market on Friday night, boosted by the solid day on Wall Street, and rises in oil and gold prices.
Wall Street’s latest push came as General Electric revealed plans to sell the bulk of its finance arm and return up to $US90 billion to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividend increases over the next three years – that news saw GE shares leap nearly 11%, which dragged the wider market higher.
In Japan, the Nikkei touched 20,000 before reversing and finishing 0.2% lower at 19,907, although it rose 2.4% over the week.
US shares rose 1.7%, Eurozone shares added 3% in another solid week’s trading and Australian shares were up 1.2%.
The big moves were in Chinese shares which continued to push higher, surging 4.4% by Friday’s close. But shares in Hong Kong leapt 7.9% and are now starting to play catch up thanks to mainland Chinese investors.
Global shares continue to post gains, more to come this week
Bond yields were mixed – up in Australia and the US as the overreaction to the weak US payroll report was reversed, but flat to lower in Europe.
Metal prices were little changed, but oil rose 5% and while the $US moved up again the $A rose slightly in response to the RBA leaving interest rates on hold on Tuesday.
US stocks ended the session higher on Friday, with the main benchmarks recording a second straight weekly gain.
The S&P 500 closed 10.88 points, or 0.5%, higher at 2,102.05 and recorded a 1.7% gain over the week.
The Dow added 98.92 points, or 0.6%, to 18,057.65 and also rose 1.7% over the week.
And the Nasdaq ended the session up 21.41 points, or 0.4%, to 4,995.98 and for a 2.2% weekly advance.
The tech-heavy index is less than a percentage point away from the 5,000 level.
Earlier, markets in Asia and Europe rallied. European stocks closed at a record high on Friday, aided as the euro moved lower, leaving the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 with its strongest week in more than two months.
The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.9% to 412.93, as all sectors gained ground on Friday, to be up 3.8% for the three day week and the biggest rise in 10 weeks.
Germany’s DAX 30 hit a new record closing high, rising 1.7% to 12,374.73. In London, the FTSE 100 also hit a new record high, rising 1.1% to 7,089.77 on Friday and 3.8% in the holiday-shortened week.
