Australian Share market Tipped to Edge Higher on Wall St Gains

Australian Share market Tipped to Edge Higher on Wall St Gains
A man looks at the electronic display of stocks at the Australian Stock Exchange on March 13, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)
AAP
By AAP
4/14/2020
Updated:
4/14/2020

The Australian share market is tipped to edge higher after a strong overnight session on Wall Street, where investors were buoyed by signs COVID-19 lockdown measures could begin to ease.

The SPI200 futures contract was up 10 points, or 0.18 percent, to 5,500.0 points at 0800 AEST on April 15, suggesting local stocks will climb again after hitting their highest point in a month the previous session.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index dipped 27 points in early trading after the Easter break but climbed steadily after the first hour to finish Tuesday up 100.8 points, or 1.87 percent, to 5,488.1.

The bourse has now recovered 1,085.6 points, or 24.7 percent from its March 23 nadir - when it had declined 2,794.7 points, or 38.8 percent, from its February 20 all-time peak.

US stocks surged overnight after the White House said President Trump would be making a number of announcements about reopening the US economy in the next day or two as the health crisis appeared to be easing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 558.99 points, or 2.39 percent, to 23,949.76, the S&P 500 gained 84.43 points, or 3.06 percent, to 2,846.06 and the Nasdaq Composite added 323.32 points, or 3.95 percent, to 8,515.74.

Gold prices have hit their highest mark in seven years, but oil has slipped as investors bet that a virus-driven drop in fuel demand destruction will be too much for global output cuts to offset.

The Australian dollar was buying 64.43 US cents at 0800 AEST, up from 64.10 US cents at the close of markets on Tuesday.

By Alex Druce