FYI: U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, following rallies in global markets as political developments eased fears of instability in Hong Kong and a messy Brexit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237 points, or 0.91%, rebounding from a sharp drop the day before. The S&P 500 was up 1.08% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.30%.
Stocks in the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong jumped as the city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said she would formally withdraw the extradition bill that sparked monthslong demonstrations that have hurt the territory’s economy. The Hang Seng Index rose 3.9% Wednesday, its biggest one-day gain since November.
The British pound, which has been hammered in recent sessions over concerns the U.K. could leave the European Union without a deal, gained 1.1% against the dollar after Parliament the night before took steps toward preventing a no-deal Brexit. The U.K.’s FTSE was up 0.6%.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 1.6% after two rival parties agreed to form a coalition government, staving off the threat of fresh elections. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.9%.
Technology stocks were among the best performers, with Intel rallying 4% and Apple rising 1.6%. The tech sector has outperformed the broader market this year, but was battered by the U.S.-China trade fight last month.
Wednesday’s broad gains for stocks came despite a backdrop of weak global economic data. A measure of factory activity in the U.S. slipped Tuesday, weighing on major indexes.
Stocks have been supported by comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials suggesting that they are open to further cuts in interest rates. New York Fed leader John Williams said Wednesday that the U.S. central bank will “act as appropriate” to keep the economy moving forward.
Oil rallied on Wednesday, benefiting from perceptions of reduced risk to the global economy. U.S. crude futures surged 4.3% to $56.26 a barrel.
Prices of U.S. government bonds, which have rallied amid the market turmoil of recent weeks, ticked up. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped to 1.459% from 1.469% on Tuesday, putting it on track for its lowest settle in more than three years. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Gold also continued to rally. Futures on the precious metal rose 0.3% to $1550.30 a troy ounce, their highest close since 2013.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.4%.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-04/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-to-bounce-higher-as-hong-kong-other-political-tensions-seen-easing-2019-09-04/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-advance-on-politics-central-bank-hopes-11567584492Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-03/asia-stocks-to-dip-amid-trade-woes-weak-data-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/sp-500-today-closes-session-highs-nears-key-test/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/stock-market-wall-street-monitors-us-china-trade-war.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-rises-on-strong-chinese-data-easing-geopolitical-concerns-idUSKCN1VP1KKU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/uk-focussed-stocks-catch-brexit-breather-hong-kong-hopes-boost-ftse-idUKKCN1VP0PBEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/relief-for-european-stocks-as-political-tensions-ease-idUSKCN1VP0OZAsia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/asia-markets-sept-4-australian-q2-gdp-us-china-trade-currencies.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/us-bonds-treasury-yields-tick-higher-as-investors-await-economic-data.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/forex-markets-brexit-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/oil-markets-global-economy-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/gold-markets-global-economy-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
