The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its largest one-day gain in history on Wednesday, sparking a rebound that stretched into Thursday’s Asian trading session and spread into the commodities markets as well. The Dow closed 4.98 percent higher on Wednesday, gaining 1,086.25 points. The S&P 500 gained 4.96 percent yesterday, its best daily performance since March 2009, bolstered by gains in the energy, tech and discretionary sectors. The Nasdaq also had its best day since March 2009, closing up 5.84 percent. All told, yesterday’s trading was the biggest post-Christmas rally in US history.
In Asia on Thursday, all benchmark indexes were trading higher, except for the Chinese benchmarks which were lower on continued trade concerns. Recent reports have revealed that traders expect the US-Sino trade war to impact China more strongly than the US. Also pressuring the Chinese indexes were reports that China’s current economic struggles are coming more from reduced domestic demand than the US tariffs. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.17 percent as of 1:53 p.m. HK/SIN and the Shenzhen Composite was down 0.03 percent. The Nikkei 225 saw the largest gains, notching a 4.11 percent gain by the mid-afternoon.
Oil Prices Surge Higher
Both Brent crude futures and US WTI futures were wildly higher on Wednesday after falling over 6 percent in the last trading session before Christmas. On Wednesday, oil posted its strongest daily gain in over two years, reversing from Monday’s losses that pushed crude benchmarks to two-year lows. US WTI futures closed up 8.7 percent on Wednesday at $46.22 per barrel. Prices retreated modestly on Thursday, trading down 0.17 percent in the mid-aftenroon to $46.14 per barrel. Brent crude futures were trading at $54.38 per barrel.