Global Stocks Tick Up as Virus Fears Fade Again
February 14 2020 - 8:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Avantika Chilkoti
Global stocks edged higher Friday as investors' concerns about a
sharp rise in coronavirus cases from earlier in the week faded,
allowing equities to resume a rally that has taken U.S. and
European benchmarks to fresh records this year.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up less
than 0.1%, while the Stoxx Europe 600 index gained almost 0.2%.
Over in Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.4% higher.
Investors had briefly grown concerned this week about when the
coronavirus outbreak might peak after Chinese authorities changed
the criteria for diagnosis, leading to a dramatic increase in the
new cases. But stocks in the U.S. and in Europe have largely
continued their rally from last year on speculation that central
banks and governments will take steps to shield the global economy
from the impact of the outbreak.
"The market wants to believe this is a one-quarter blip and
we're back to the races," said Neil Dwane, global strategist at
Allianz Global Investors.
Investors also largely shrugged off the signs of fresh tensions
between Washington and Beijing that emerged overnight after the
U.S. charged Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and two of its
U.S. subsidiaries with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to
steal trade secrets. Tensions between the two nations had roiled
markets for large parts of last year, and eased only briefly after
they sealed an initial trade accord that failed to address a number
of crucial issues.
"We always thought the 'phase one' trade deal actually resolve
tensions between the U.S. and China," said Simona Gambarini,
markets economist at Capital Economics in London. "The two
economies are based on totally different foundations."
--would not
Ahead of the opening bell in New York, Nvidia advanced around 7%
after the graphics-chip maker's fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall
Street's expectations.
Expedia Group gained over 12% in offhours trading after the
online travel company projected cost savings and growth in a
measure of profit for this year. Shares in Arista Networks dropped
over 8% after the cloud-networking provider reported a drop in
fourth-quarter revenue.
Among European equities, Royal Bank of Scotland Group was among
the biggest losers. The stock declined 5.8% after the U.K. bank
reduced the size of its investment banking business and projected
as much as GBP1 billion ($1.3 billion) in costs this year, stemming
from strategic changes it plans to make.
Later in the day, investors will be watching for the latest
retail sales data from the U.S. Commerce Department, which will
provide fresh signs on whether holiday-season spending continued
into the new year. Economists expect to see a 0.3% rise in sales
during January compared with the prior month.
Write to Avantika Chilkoti at Avantika.Chilkoti@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 14, 2020 07:47 ET (12:47 GMT)
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