Market update: Receding geopolitical fears and more upbeat Chinese data lift the mood – 10.09.2013

Source: Henderson Global Investors

Wall Street stocks moved sharply higher on Monday. Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices gained 1.0% while the Nasdaq rose to its highest level since September 2000, up 1.3% on the day. There were several reasons behind the moves including receding fears over a military strike against Syria; upbeat data from China, which reinforced confidence in the health of the global economy, and merger and acquisition activity.

Overnight, there have been more positive data releases from China as industrial production and retail sales for August were better than expected. Coming after the healthy export and muted inflation numbers, the latest releases boosted optimism that China has overcome the slowdown in activity from earlier in the year. Asian stocks were lifted by the news; the Shanghai Composite closed up 1.2%, while the Nikkei 225 gained 1.5%. South Korean and Australian bourses were also firmer. European stocks have similarly advanced this morning. At the time of writing the FTSE Eurofirst 300 is up 0.9% while the FTSE 100 index has gained 0.8%. In early trading miners and airlines were leading the FTSE 100 names in London.