Wall Street bounced higher on Monday, recovering from last Friday’s slide, as investors talked up the chances of more stimulus spending and news that President Donald Trump will leave the hospital where he is being treated for coronavirus.
The Dow rose 465.83 points, or 1.68%, to end at 28,148.64, the S&P 500 added 60.16 points, or 1.80%, to close at 3,408.60 and the Nasdaq added 257.47 points, or 2.32%, to settle at 11,332.49.
The ASX futures market had the ASX 200 up a more sedate 26 points just after 7 am, meaning the local market will resume in the green after Monday’s holiday surge that saw the index jump 150 points or 2.59%.
Oil futures settled with a gain of more than 5% on Monday in regular trading which grew to more than 6% in after-hours trading into Asia.
Traders believed the chances have improved for another round of stimulus in the US and monitored a strike that is curtailing crude output in Norway.
But the overwhelming positive factor was the news President trump would be leaving hospital on Monday to return to the White House.
But the White House saw three more cases of COVID-19 among Trump insiders, making the building a significant coronavirus hot spot.
West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery climbed $US2.17, or 5.9%, to settle at $US39.22 a barrel in New York.
In Europe, December Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, added $US2.02, or 5.1%, to settle at $US41.29 a barrel.
Monday’s gains came after WTI oil futures dropped nearly 8% last week, while Brent fell more than 7%.
Gold futures meanwhile also rose on Monday thanks to a softer US dollar and fresh talk of a stimulus deal supporting prices.
The US dollar lost around 0.4% on Monday against other major currencies as news emerged that president trump would be returning to the White House after a three day stay in hospital.
The Aussie dollar rose but stalled short of the 72 US cents level ahead of the 2020-21 budget tonight.
Comex gold for December delivery rose $US12.50, or 0.7%, to settle at $US1,920.10 an ounce, after rising 2.2% last week.
Comex silver for December delivery added 53 cents, or 2.2%, to $US24.56 an ounce, following a 4.1% rise last week.
However, Comex December copper fell 0.5% to $US2.963 a pound, continuing the weakness that emerged last week.
