Asia Morning US Stocks Rebound After 2 Day Losses

On Thursday U.S. stocks closed in positive territory after two sessions of solid losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 377 points (+1.6%) to 23625, the S&P 500 gained 32 points (+1.2%) to 2852, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 94 points (+1.1%) to 9094. 

Source: GAIN Capital, TradingView

Banks (+4.1%), Automobiles & Components (+3.9%) and Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (+2.95%) sectors were market leaders.

Cintas Corporation (CTAS +14.7%), Leggett & Platt (LEG +9.8%), Capital One Financial (COF +9.6%), UnitedHealth Group (UNH +4.5%), and Cisco Systems (CSCO +4.5%) were among the top gainers. 

On the technical side, about 24.6% (25.8% in the prior session) of stocks in the S&P 500 Index were trading above their 200-day moving average, and 28.7% (44.4% in the prior session) were above their 20-day moving average.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that Initial Jobless Claims amounted to 2.981 million for the week ended May 9 (2.500 million expected). Over 36 million Americans have become unemployed for the past two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Import Prices fell 2.6% on month in April (-3.2% expected), the biggest fall in five years.

Later today, investors will focus on Retail Sales (-12.0% on month in April expected), the Empire Manufacturing Index (-60.0 for May expected), Industrial Production (-12.0% on month in April expected), and the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index (68.0 for May expected).

Meanwhile, heightened tensions between the U.S. and China seem not to be easing in the near future. In an interview with Fox Business Network, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was disappointed with China over its response to the coronavirus crisis, adding that he didn't want to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping at the moment.
 
European stocks were broadly lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index falling 2.2%. Germany's DAX dropped 2.0%, France's CAC declined 1.7%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 2.8%.

U.S. Treasury prices remained firm, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to 0.617% from 0.648% Wednesday.

Spot gold price charged 15 dollars higher (+0.9%) to $1730 an ounce, posting a three-day rally.

Oil prices rebounded, as U.S. WTI crude oil futures (June) jumped 9.0% to $27.56 a barrel, the highest level since April 3.

On the forex front, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.1% on day to 100.26. In an interview with Fox Business Network, U.S. President Donald Trump said "it is a great time to have a strong dollar".