Global sharemarkets hit seven to 10 week highs overnight on good news from China, hopes of a European settlement and reasonable earnings reports in the US.
Asian stocks led the way as they rebounded from last Friday’s weakness.
European markets opened with higher and finished with solid gains.
And in the US it was the same story as the reasonable earnings news, the ‘buy’ European hot air and the upbeat news about the Chinese economy combined to switch ‘risk back on’ and continue the gains of last Friday.
The Dow and S&P 500 all rose by around 1% or more, as did gold and oil.
Copper jumped a big 7% on news the Chinese manufacturing sector was again growing.
That means copper has gained 13% in trading overnight and last Friday.
Oil was up more than 4%, gold over 1% and the Aussie dollar was closing on $US1.05 as the greenback again weakened.
Asia saw the biggest gains because of Friday’s sell off on some markets.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 4.1% while the Shanghai Composite index ticked up 2.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.9%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 3.3%, and Australia’s ASX 200 index jumped 113.1 points, or 2.7%, to 4255.
The All Ords added 110.2 points, or 2.6%, to 4313.60.
The gains were after most Asian sharemarkets closed with weekly losses on Friday, as caution prevailed ahead of weekend meetings to discuss Europe’s debt crisis.
European and US markets ignored that caution and closed higher, especially Wall Street.
European leaders attempted to reassure market participants anxious for news of a plan to tackle the region’s debt troubles.
Helping the tone in Asia was solid news from China.
HSBC’s China Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index showed that the sector picked up in October after a three-month contraction as new orders and new export orders strengthened.
The flash PMI rose to 51.1 in October from September’s final reading of 49.9, climbing above the 50-point level for the first time since July.
And Japan’s trade surplus rose, despite another weak contribution from exports, especially into Asia and China.
