US Stocks Rebound on Receding Fears of a June Fed Rate-Hike
After weighing heavily on Wednesday and Thursday, Fed rate-hike fears
seemed to recede that helped major US equity indices to open higher on
Friday.
The only economic data from the US on Friday, existing home sales,
confirmed robust demand despite of constrained supply. According to the
data released by the National Association of Realtors just a short while
ago, existing home sales rose 1.7% in April to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 5.45 million, which was better than the 5.40 million pace
forecast by economists.
Stocks gain across US, Europe and Asia
US stock indices extended their gains after existing-home sales data,
with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 130 point to 17,565 and the
S&P 500 up 16 point at 2,056. Meanwhile, tech heavy Nasdaq
Composite index outperformed other indices and rose 56 point or 1.2% to
begin trading at 4,768.
After taking Friday’s opening trade in to consideration, most major US
indices are headed for a flat to positive close for the week. The weekly
gains are despite of Thursday's sharp losses led by worries that the
Fed will move to hike interest rates in June.
Investors, however, seem to be shrugging off those worries on Friday,
leading to an upbeat trading session across Asian and European markets.
Market participants now argue that the Fed would be inclined to hold its
fire until the most notable event risk of 'Brexit' - UK referendum on EU membership, for which the voting takes place after the June Fed meeting.
