Global markets seemed to be celebrating with America as markets rallied going into the country’s Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday. Asian shares rose on optimism stemming from oil’s continued rally which sent energy shares broadly higher. Despite relatively low prices, U.S. WTI crude futures saw their ninth consecutive session of gains on Tuesday morning, the longest run since February 2012, briefly hitting $47.07 per barrel before retreating slightly to $46.79 per barrel. Brent crude futures were down 0.64 percent to $49.36 per barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.44 percent at 10:25 a.m. HKT and MSCI’s broadest index of shares outside Japan was 0.2 percent higher. Australian shares enjoyed wider gains, up 1.4 percent. Asian markets followed the U.S. markets that ended higher on Monday’s shortened trading session. The S&P index gained 0.2 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent. U.S. markets will be closed on Tuesday.
Currency Movements
The dollar index eased slightly on Tuesday morning, trading down 0.1 percent at 96.122 .DXY, after gaining 0.6 percent on Monday. The dollar’s gains were attributed largely to June domestic manufacturing data which showed activity which was stronger than expected. Other data out Monday showed that U.S. government outlays for construction projects hit four-month highs in May.
The dollar traded at 113.24 against the yen on Tuesday morning, down 0.13 percent. The euro rose slightly against the dollar to trade at $1.1367 and the British pound was also slightly higher, trading at $1.2941 after sliding 0.7 percent on Monday on weaker than expected data from Britain’s manufacturing sector.
Gold, which hit a seven-week low on Monday, inched up slightly on Tuesday morning, gaining 0.22 percent to trade at $1221.90 per ounce.