US stocks ended the day higher yesterday as the market cheered a weaker dollar and rising number of corporate deals. The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 rose by 327, 45, and 203 points, respectively. This trend is continuing in the futures market, where the three indices are up by more than 0.25%.
In Asia-Pacific, indices are mixed, with the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng rising by more than 0.35%. Elsewhere, in Japan and Australia, the Nikkei 225 and ASX 200 are down by more than 0.50% and 0.20%, respectively.
Meanwhile, in Europe, futures tied to the DAX index are up by 0.25% while those tied to the Stoxx 50, FTSE 100, and CAC 40 are in the red.
There are several catalysts influencing global stocks today. First, investors are reacting to robust economic data from China. Earlier today, the country’s statistics office released strong industrial production, retail sales, unemployment rate, and fixed asset investment data. The data showed that the retail sales rose by more than 0.5% while industrial production rose by 5.6%. The Chinese unemployment rate fell from 5.7% to 5.6%.
Global stocks are rising because of the rising corporate actions. In the past few days, deals worth more than $60 billion have been announced. The biggest was the decision by Nvidia to acquire Arm for more than $40 billion.
The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 are also rising ahead of key listings in the United States. This week, several companies, including Palantir Technologies, Unity Games, and JFrog, and Sumo Logic are expected to go public. They are also rising ahead of the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting. Meanwhile, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 is falling as investors reflect on the likelihood of a consumption tax hike in the new administration.
Elsewhere, the crude oil priceis continuing to fall, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) falling by 0.25% and 0.15%, respectively. Gold and silver prices have jumped by more than 0.70% while copper is up by 0.25%.
Dow Jones futures are in their third straight day of gains. They are trading at $28,070, which is the highest level since Thursday last week. The daily chart shows that the index failed to move below the ascending purple trendline in its last week’s decline. The price has just moved above the 25-day exponential moving averages.
Therefore, it seems like bulls are really taking over, which means that it will continue rising. If it does, the next level to watch is the resistance level at $29,000. On the other hand, a move below the support of $27,500 will invalidate this trend. This price is at the intersection of the ascending trendline and the lowest level on September 11.
