Global shares rose on Tuesday as hopes for economic recovery overshadowed worries over the coronavirus pandemic. Investors are shifting their focus to how various nations are adapting to getting back to business, while striving to keep new Covid-19 cases in check.
France’s CAC 40 was up 1% to 4,585 as the government was due to unveil support measures for the auto industry. Germany’s DAX gained 0.6% to 11,458 and the FTSE 100 in Britain, which was closed for trading on Monday, rose 1.2% to 6,063.
US shares were set for gains after a long weekend, with the future for the Dow industrials adding 1.9% and the future for the S&P 500 rising 1.8%.
Traders are awaiting US consumer confidence data for May and home sales for April, indicators that might give further clues into the severity of the downturn brought on by the pandemic.
“As is the financial market’s wont these days... Even the slimmest of positive news on the Covid-19 front triggers a bullish immune response and another wave of the peak-virus trade,” said analyst Jeffrey Halley of trading platform Oanda.
Comments from China’s central bank governor on support for its slowing economy also lifted sentiment.
Yi Gang, in an interview on the bank’s website, promised to push down borrowing costs for entrepreneurs and “support development of the real economy.”