March was a better month for markets, although the uneasiness of this week clipped some gains.
Shares in the US and Europe rose, extending the biggest monthly rally for since 2003.
The rise yesterday and overnight started in Europe after Asia fell in reaction to Monday’s big Wall Street fall.
The rises in the US came despite more news showing US house prices continue to fall, consumer confidence was again flat and business activity in a broad survey was also poor, suggesting the intensity of the recession is not easing.
The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets rose 1.5% to 804.54, extending its gain in March to 7.1%, the biggest rise in a single month in six years.
The Dow rose or 1.2% Tuesday, The S&P 500 index gained 1.3% and Nasdaq was up 1.8%.
The S&P 500 rose 8.5 % in March, trimming its 2009 decline to 12%. The S & P 500 has jumped 18% since March 9 when it hit a 12 year low.
In March the Dow rose 6.5%, but is still down 13% this year (which is the first quarter).
Nasdaq is down 3% for the year so far and up a sharp 11% for March.
Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 2.1% last month, the first monthly gain since August 2008. It is up 12% since the low on March 9; that cut its quarterly retreat to 11%.
Australian stocks posted their biggest monthly gain in almost nine years in March amid tentative signs of stabilisation in the global financial sector, but fell over the first quarter after a poor start to the year.
In London the FTSE 100 index jumped 4.3% Tuesday, taking March’s gain to 2.5%. But it was off 11% for the quarter. It is also up 12% from the lows hit in early March.
On the final day of the quarter, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.6% It rose 7.3% in March, the best monthly rise since June 2003, but was off 3.8% for the quarter.
The All Ords rose 7.4% last month.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.3% Tuesday after Monday’s 4% fall. That cut the gain since early March to around 9%.
It was up 7.7% in all of March, which has trimmed its 2009 performance to a loss of 9.6%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei index rose 7.2% last month, the biggest monthly climb since April last year.
Yesterday was the last day of Japan’s fiscal 2008. The Nikkei lost 35% over the 12 months, its biggest financial year fall since the 2001 fiscal year.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 6% in March, also the most since April last year. The Hang Seng fell 5.6% in the first quarter, its fifth quarterly decline.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index was Asia’s best performing market, posting a 30% rally in the first three months of the year. Vietnam’s VN Index fell 11%.
New York Comex copper futures for May delivery rose 7.85 cents, or 4.4% on Tuesday to $US1.8445 a pound, which left the metal up 31% in 2009 so far. Copper was up 20% in March amid talk of Chinese buying and suggestions the recession was turning.
The Reuters/Jeffries CRB Index fell 5.8% in the March quarter. Oil rose 7.7% in the quarter, its best performance since the second quarter of last year.
New York Comex gold futures for June delivery rose $US2.80 to $US920.50 an ounce. The most-active contract was up 4%, the biggest quarterly gain in a year, according to Bloomberg figures.
Silver futures rose 14%.
Gold futures rose to an all-time high of $US1,033.90 on March 17, 2008 and reached $US1,007.70, the highest this year, on February 20, before falling sharply, then recovering.
