Market update: Markets end a volatile quarter in a more sanguine state

Source: Henderson Global Investors

Wall Street stocks rose for a third consecutive session on Thursday (Dow Jones and Nasdaq +0.8%, S&P 500 +0.6%). This was in large part due to comments by US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials as they tried to ease concerns about an early withdrawal of monetary stimulus. Nine out of the ten S&P 500 industry sectors gained with financials and industrials leading the way. US Treasury yields also stabilised at around 2.5%.

Overnight Asian markets have extended gains on the last trading day of H1 2013. Chinese stocks took heart from the central bank governor’s remarks at a financial conference in Shanghai, where the authorities pledged to maintain financial stability (Shanghai Composite +1.5%). Japanese stocks rallied (Nikkei 225 +3.5%) as economic data pointed to an improving economy with industrial production up 2.0% in the month of May (consensus: 0.2%). European bourses are sanguine this morning absorbing the news out of the US and Asia. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.2% and FTSE 100 rose 0.1% at the time of writing. The price of gold, however, continued to fall, reaching below $1,200 an ounce, and heading for its worst quarterly performance since 1968.