S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
Australian equities climbed 84 points or nearly 1.0% to 8,878 on Thursday morning session, extending strong gains from the prior day following record closing highs on Wall Street Wednesday amid a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the Middle East conflict. Local markets held their highest level in two weeks, with nearly all major sectors advancing, led by process industries, non-energy minerals, consumer durables and non-durables, and transport. However, strength was capped by vigilance ahead of Australia’s trade data for March later today following February’s rise in exports and a fall in imports. Meanwhile, inflation worries lingered as the central bank cautioned that higher fuel costs from the Middle East conflict risked sparking second-round effects, even after three rate hikes this year. Three of the big four lenders rose between 1% and 2%. Other standouts were BHP Group (3.6%), Fortescue (2.3%), Evolution Mining (4.1%), and South32 Ltd. (3.5%).
