Global Stocks Up as China Worries Ease
October 01 2015 - 4:50AM
Dow Jones News
Global stocks rallied on the first day of the new quarter as
concerns over China's slowing growth eased and a strong close on
Wall Street spurred gains overseas.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 1.1% in early trade, one day after
finishing its worst quarter since 2011.
Sentiment was boosted on Thursday after new data showed modest
signs of improvement in China's manufacturing sector.
China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index ticked
up slightly last month, beating expectations. The official
manufacturing purchasing managers index inched up to 49.8 in
September from 49.7 in August, according to the China Federation of
Logistics and Purchasing, which issues the data with the National
Bureau of Statistics. Still, a PMI reading below 50 points to a
contraction.
A competing private gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity,
the Caixin China manufacturing PMI, was down slightly at 47.2 in
September, a six-year low, compared with 47.3 in August.
Asian markets, which had already opened higher, extended gains
after the data was released. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 1.7%
higher.
"There has been a growing feeling in the markets that while the
global outlook has dimmed somewhat, the current virulence of the
selloff was somewhat overdone," said Angus Nicholson, Market
Analyst at IG.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.9%. Investors
in Japan also considered the Bank of Japan's latest corporate
survey, which showed that big manufacturers were more cautious
about the economy in the third quarter as exporters were pressured
by China's slowdown.
Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed for national
holidays.
Meanwhile, investors Thursday were also looking ahead to
Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which is closely watched by
Federal Reserve officials as they decide when to raise short-term
interest rates. Economists expect 200,000 jobs were created in
September and estimate that the unemployment rate held at 5.1%.
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial
Average adding 1.5%. The S&P 500 gained 1.9% and the Nasdaq
Composite rose 2.3%.
Still, all three major U.S. indexes posted their biggest
quarterly losses in four years. For the quarter, the S&P 500
fell 6.9%, the Dow industrials dropped 7.6% and the Nasdaq
Composite Index declined 7.4%.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.9% at $49.50 a
barrel. Gold was down 0.3% at $1111.90 an ounce.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 01, 2015 04:35 ET (08:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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