ASX set to rise as Wall Street rolls higher; Bitcoin hits record
US stocks are rising Monday and adding to the gains made during their best week of the year.
The S&P 500 was up 0.1 per cent in afternoon trading, and three out of every four stocks in the index were climbing. It’s coming off a 4.7 per cent spurt last week spurred by Donald Trump’s presidential victory and a cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve to bolster the economy.
Wall Street has kicked off the week with more gains.Credit: Bloomberg
The Dow Jones was up 344 points, or 0.8 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2 per cent lower. The Australian sharemarket is set to advance, with futures at 4.57am AEDT pointing to a rise of 18 points, or 0.2 per cent, at the open. The ASX lost 0.4 per cent on Monday.
Tesla was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 higher after rising 7.8 per cent. Its leader, Elon Musk, has become a close ally of Trump’s, and its stock jumped nearly 15 per cent the day after the election and has kept rising.
Several pieces of what’s known as the “Trump trade” also helped drive the market, as investors try to identify which kinds of companies will be winners under a second Trump term. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.6 per cent, and bank stocks broadly continue to benefit from expectations for stronger economic growth, less regulation from Washington and an increase in mergers and acquisitions.
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A White House more friendly to big tie-ups has helped Wall Street speculate about a merger between insurers Cigna Group and Humana, for example. It’s been so feverish that Cigna said Monday it isn’t pursuing a deal with Humana. Cigna’s stock rose 7.8 per cent, and Humana’s sank 3.5 per cent.
Stocks of companies more focused on the US economy were also rising more than the rest of the market, including a 1.7 per cent rally for the smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index, because they’re seen as benefiting more from Trump’s America First policies than big multinational companies.
Companies are also continuing to deliver earnings reports showing they made more in profit during the summer than analysts expected. Aramark gained 1.4 per cent after it reported broad-based growth during the latest quarter, including for food at stadiums and among customers around the world.
