Asia Morning US Stocks Up for Second Session

On Tuesday U.S. stocks posted gains for a second session. Market sentiment kept improving along with countries and U.S. states easing their coronavirus-induced restrictions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133 points (+0.6%) to 23,883, the S&P 500 gained 25 points (+0.9%) to 2,868, and the Nasdaq 100 jumped 96 points (+1.1%) to 8,930.

Source: GAIN Capital, TradingView

Health Care Equipment & Services (+2.48%), Automobiles & Components (+2.05%) and Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences (+1.89%) sectors performed the best.

IPG Photonics (IPGP +21.0%), Jack Henry & Associates (JKHY +8.8%), Mosaic (MOS +7.3%) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN +6.0%) were top gainers.

On the other hand, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH -22.6%) and WestRock (WRK -17.3%) lost big.

On the technical side, about 22.8% (21.6% in the prior session) of stocks in the S&P 500 Index were trading above their 200-day moving average, and 54.3% (62.4% in the prior session) were above their 20-day moving average.

Regarding U.S. economic data, the Markit U.S. Services Purchasing Mangers' Index (final reading) posted at 26.7 for April (27.0 expected), a record low. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Index came in at 41.8 (37.8 expected), the lowest level since 2009.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that Trade Deficit widened to 44.4 billion dollars in March (44.2 billion dollars expected).

U.S. President Donald Trump said that the White House coronavirus task force will wind down as the country moves into a second phase that focuses on the aftermath of the outbreak.

European stocks rebounded, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index gaining 2.2%. Germany's DAX rebounded 2.5%, France's CAC climbed 2.4%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.7%.

U.S. Treasuries eased in price, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 0.652% from 0.636% Monday.

Spot gold price increased 5 dollars to $1,705 an ounce.

Oil prices continued their rally, boosted by improving market sentiment. U.S. WTI crude oil futures (June) surged 20.5% to $24.56 a barrel, and Brent crude oil futures jumped 13.9% to $30.97 a barrel.

On the forex front, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.3% on day to 99.81, up for a second straight session.