Global stocks rise, yen firms
Gold rises to top $5,100 an ounce for the first time
Global stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Monday as investors awaited earnings from megacaps while the yen firmed against the dollar as investors looked for any signs of intervention in the Japanese currency.
In addition, gold rose to top $5,100 an ounce for the first time.
On U.S. stock market, stocks closed higher, buoyed in part by gains in the S&P 500 communication services and tech sectors. Markets are also expecting earnings this week from companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Tesla and Meta Platforms, while the country’s central bank is scheduled to release its policy statement on Wednesday.
You’re seeing communications and technology are trading well today in advance of the earnings from a lot of the large companies, said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of Northlight Asset Management in Charlotte, North Carolina. It seems like we’re having an expansion in corporate profits and an expansion in the economy – so generally speaking, investors are cautiously optimistic and most likely looking forward to earnings season.
The S&P 500 materials sector also closed higher, as the rise in gold helped lift stocks such as Freeport-McMoRan and Newmont Mining, although the sector closed well off earlier highs. The materials sector has the second-highest earnings growth rate of any sector in the first quarter at 24.4%, according to LSEG data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 313.69 points, or 0.64%, to 49,412.40, the S&P 500 added 34.69 points, or 0.50%, to 6,950.30 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 100.11 points, or 0.43%, to 23,601.36.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe added 6.12 points, or 0.59%, to 1,043.67 and was on track for a fourth straight session of gains, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.2%, supported by gains in financial stocks ahead bank earnings later in the week.