US Stocks Hit Records as China and Europe Jolt Markets

November 21, 2014 Share Print 1

U.S. stock benchmarks climbed to records, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index poised for a fifth week of gains, as optimism in the global economy grew after central banks in China and Europe signaled additional stimulus measures.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 2,062.77 at 9:31 a.m. in New York. The index has advanced 1.1 percent this week, pushing its gains in 2014 to 12 percent.

“Asia is strong on the interest rates, and Europe is strong on the Draghi comments,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “There’s a positive flow coming through to U.S. businesses. A rising tide lifts all boats.”

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he will do what is necessary to raise inflation in the region as fast as possible. Should the current policy not be effective, the ECB will “broaden even more the channels” through which it intervenes, by adjusting the size, pace and composition of asset purchases, he said in Frankfurt.

Global equities extended gains after China cut its benchmark interest rates for the first time since July 2012. The People’s Bank of China lowered its one-year deposit rate and the one-year lending rate, with changes effective tomorrow, according to its website.

via Bloomberg

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.