Global stock markets turn higher on hopes of virus aid – Gulf Today

Global stock markets turn higher on hopes of virus aid – Gulf Today

A woman wearing a face mask walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday. Associated Press



World stocks and the dollar rallied after a cautious European morning as thin summer trading led to sharp swings in the market, and worries about US gridlock over the next round of coronavirus aid eased.

In Europe, stocks were up 1.2 per cent as technology stocks rallied on positive read-across from peers on the other side of the Atlantic, offsetting a selloff in big banks' shares after results.

Index heavyweight HSBC fell 5 per cent after it warned that its bad debt charges could surge to as much as $13 billion.

US stock futures were up 0.5 per cent with jittery investors cautiously adding positions, expecting progress on the stimulus package and on hopes of a COVID-19 treatment - as Eli Lilly started a late-stage study of a drug to see whether it can contain the virus in nursing homes.

"Thin markets can blow both ways quite easily,“ Bailey added.

On Friday, Fitch Ratings cut the outlook on the United States' triple-A credit rating to negative from stable and said the direction of fiscal policy depends in part on the November