How’dy USA

US share markets ended sharply higher on Friday. Shares of Boeing, a component of the Dow Jones index of 30 stocks, rose 14.7% on plans to resume production next week. And shares of Gilead Sciences rose by 9.7% following reports that that COVID-19 patients had responded positively to its remdesivir drug. The Dow Jones index closed higher by almost 705 points or 3.0%. The S&P500 index rose by 2.7% and the Nasdaq index gained 118 points or 1.4%. Over the week the Dow rose 2.2%, the S&P 500 rose 3% and the Nasdaq rose 6.1%. In US economic data, the leading index fell by 6.7% in March (forecast decline of 7%).

US long-term treasury bond prices fell (yields higher) on Friday as investors favoured equities and commodities over safe-haven assets like government bonds and gold. US 2-year yields were flat near 0.202% and US 10-year yields rose by 3 points to 0.64%. Over the week US 2-year yields fell by 2 points. And US 10-year yields fell by 8 points.

Bonjour Europe

European share markets closed firmer on Friday, the seventh gain in eight sessions. Investors were encouraged by US President Trump's plans to reopen the US economy. Sentiment was also buoyed after US drug maker Gilead Sciences said it was making progress in developing a virus vaccine. Miners rose by 4.2%. Shares in Airbus rose 6.8% after rival plane maker Boeing said it would resume production next week. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 2.6%. The German Dax gained 3.2%. And the UK FTSE was up by 2.8%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto rose by 3.3% while shares of BHP closed higher by 4.0%.

Hello World!

Major currencies were stronger against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from US$1.0810 to US$1.0890 and was near US$1.0875 at the US close. The Aussie dollar rose from near US63.15 cents to US63.75 cents and was near US63.65 cents at the US close of trade. And the Japanese yen rose from JPY107.90 per US dollar to JPY107.30 and was near JPY107.50 at the US close.

Global oil prices were mixed on Friday. Saudi Arabia and Russia said they were ready to take more measures with other OPEC producers to support prices. And while plans by the US President to reopen the economy provided encouragement, Chinese economic data was weak. The Chinese economy fell 6.8% over the year to March. The Brent crude price rose by US26 cents or 0.9% to US$28.08 a barrel. But the US Nymex price was lower by US$1.60 a barrel to an 18-year low of US$18.27 a barrel. Over the week Brent crude fell by 10.8% and Nymex fell by 19.7%.

Base metal prices were generally firmer on the London Metal Exchange on Friday. Nickel rose by 2.4% and copper lifted 1.5%. But lead lost 1.2% and aluminium fell by 0.4%. Over the week metals rose by up to 4% with copper doing best while tin rose just 0.1%. But lead went against the trend, down 2.9%.

The gold futures price fell by US$31.20 an ounce or 1.8% to US$1,689.20 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,700 an ounce in late US trade. Over the week gold fell by US$47.00 an ounce or 2.7%. Iron ore rose by US95 cents or 1.1% to US$85.45 a tonne. Over the week iron ore rose by US$1.90 or 2.3%.

G’day Australia

In Australia, the Bureau of Statistics releases a new survey "Household Impacts of COVID-19". In China the loan prime rate decision is made. In the US, the Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index is released.