Asian markets dropped on Thursday, despite Wednesday’s rally in Western markets. Korea’s Kospi sank 1.5%, weighed down by LG Electronics, which tumbled 14%. Australia’s ASX 200 slipped .3%, and the Hang Seng lost 2.5%, as heavyweight HSBC dropped nearly 3%. The Shanghai Composite inched up .2%, bucking the trend, and Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
European shares rallied, amid hopesGreecewould abandon a plan for a referendum on last week’s bailout package. The CAC40 rallied 2.7%, the DAX jumped 2.7%, and the FTSE rose 1.1%. The ECB unexpectedly cut interest rates by .25%.
European leaders pledged thatGreecewould not receive any additional aid if it did not approve last week’s bailout package.
US markets followed Europe higher. The Dow rallied 208 points to 12044, the Nasdaq climbed 2.2%, and the S&P 500 advanced 1.9%.
Qualcomm shares soared 7.5% after beating analyst forecasts and raising its outlook. In contrast, Kellogg shares sank 7.6% after issuing a weak outlook.
Currencies
The Dollar remained under pressure despite the ECB’s rate cut. The Euro rose .7% to 1.3813, recovering from an earlier drop down to 1.3658. The Australian Dollar rallied 1% to 1.0406, and the Canadian Dollar jumped .8% to 1.0075, as investors flocked to risk. The Pound and Swiss Franc both rose .7%, and the Yen inched up .1% to 78.05.
Economic Outlook
Weekly jobless claims dropped to 397K, 9000 less than last week, and better than forecast. Worker productivity jumped to 3.1%, more than expected, and factory orders unexpectedly rose by .3%.