By Jessica DiNapoli
NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set to open
higher on Friday as a late Wall Street rally supported global
sentiment although weak U.S. data and uncertainty about a
stimulus package in Washington have kept a lid on confidence.
U.S. stocks ended positive in choppy trade on Thursday, led
by a dogged comeback in the technology sector, having initially
sold off on higher than expected unemployment claims.
"What we've seen for equity markets is there is quite a good
deal of resilience," said Tom Piotrowski, a market analyst at
Australian broker CommSec. "Commentators like to stack up all of
the negatives markets face, the U.S. election being among them,
but I think there is a sense that there is an underlying
resilience in the market."
In early Asian trade, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 futures
YAPcm1 rose 0.12% and Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1 added
0.13%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI HSIc1 rose
0.45%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
shed 0.43%.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are working
on a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that could be
voted on as soon as next week, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
reiterating she is ready to negotiate on it with the White
House. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.2%, the S&P
500 .SPX gained 0.30% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
0.37%.
The U.S. dollar lost ground as investor confidence returned.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.056%.
U.S. Treasury yields fell, but moved off lows after a
stronger-than-expected report on the housing sector.
Oil prices were steady as a new wave of coronavirus cases in
Europe led several countries to re-impose travel restrictions,
offsetting a drop in U.S. crude and fuel inventories.
U.S. crude CLc1 recently fell 0.12% to $40.26 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was flat.
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Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
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MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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