Opening Call: The Australian share market is to open lower.
U.S. stocks rose as technology stocks staged a strong recovery from recent losses. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.53% as bond markets calmed. The WSJ Dollar Index fell to 86.7. Oil prices slipped again as traders are forecasting a rise in inventories. Gold prices posted strong gains with help from a drop in Treasurys and the dollar.
Australian Market
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.5% higher after paring gains made during a strong start for a second consecutive day. The benchmark was up as much as 1.0% before losing momentum, with tumbling tech shares and weakness in energy and materials partially offsetting gains by financials, industrials and other economically sensitive stocks.
US Market
Technology stocks rallied, with the Nasdaq Composite logging a big gain a day after sliding into correction territory.
Investors appeared to be bargain-hunting, pouncing on stocks that had been beaten down over the past several weeks. Shares of Tesla, Roku and Square rose substantially, while tech’s heavyweights, Apple, Amazon.com and Facebook, were also up.
At the same time, a selloff in government bonds appeared to be on pause. The stabilization in bond markets is likely to help tech shares recoup some of their losses, investors said.
The Nasdaq rose 3.7% as of the 4 p.m. close of trading in New York, while the S&P 500 added 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 0.1%.
Commodities
Gold futures rose sharply to reclaim the key $1,700 level and post their first gain in five sessions, with prices supported by a retreat in the dollar and a pullback in yields for government debt from one-year highs.
Gold for April delivery on Comex gained 2.3% to settle at $1,716.90 an ounce, marking the biggest one-day dollar and percentage rise for a most-active contract since Jan. 4, FactSet data show.
Oil Futures
Oil futures suffered a second straight day of losses as traders awaited data that may reveal a third weekly climb in U.S. crude inventories.
On average, analysts expect domestic crude supplies to rose by 2.7 million barrels for the week ended March 5, according to a pre-EIA survey conducted by S&P Global Platts.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday, West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery fell 1.6% to settle at $64.01 a barrel.
Forex
European Markets
Asian Markets
Earlier Tuesday, Chinese stocks settled lower despite a short-lived recovery in the middle of the session, when it was reported that some state-backed funds had stepped in to stem the slump. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.8%. The Shenzhen Composite Index shed 2.8%. The ChiNext Price Index, a measure for emerging industries and startups, dropped 3.5%. Electronics suppliers and software developers led the downturn.
Hong Kong stocks, however, ended higher, recovering from a three-session losing streak. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.8%. Macau casino operators led the upturn, as recent upbeat sales data and the city’s gradual removal of Covid-19 restrictive measures buoyed sentiment toward the sector.
Japanese stocks also ended higher, led by gains in auto and real-estate stocks, thanks partly to the yen’s weakening to its weakest in nine months. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.0% as investors watched bond yield movements and the yen’s potential for further weakening.
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