News that significant progress had been made overnight between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators has raised hopes that a ceasefire may be on the cards sooner rather than later.
When combined with an inverting of the yield curve, that is when long term interest rates fall below short-term rates, this was broadly a positive for US stock markets with the Nasdaq leading the way, up 1.8%.
The Dow Jones trailed, up 1% while the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% with the energy sector the only detractor. This was due to another fall in the oil price, down from US$130 to US$103.
Apple’s rare achievement, Nielson goes private
Shares in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), the biggest company in the world, have posted 11 straight days of gains, which is the longest winning streak since 2003 and comes as investors flock back to ‘perceived’ quality.
TV ratings group Nielsen Holdings (NYSE: NLSN) gained 21% after confirming it would be selling to private equity, as the sector once again jumps headlong into service-based undervalued businesses.
US stock market movers
Here’s how other popular US stocks performed on Tuesday.
- Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) up 7.5%
- Ford (NYSE: F) up 6.5%
- Mastercard (NYSE: MA) up 4.9%
- PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) up 4.3%
- Nike (NYSE: NKE) up 3.2%
- CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) down 3.1%
Back home on the ASX, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is set to follow this positive lead from US stock markets to open higher this morning. For a round-up of the latest news, check out my ASX 200 morning report.
