ASX eyes gains after Dow adds 550 points, US banks set aside $40 billion for coronavirus hit – ABC News

The Australian share market has a strong lead from Wall Street, after the Dow Jones added more than 550 points overnight.

• ASX SPI futures +0.5pc, ASX 200 (Tuesday’s close) -0.6pc at 5,941
• AUD: 69.74 US cents, 55.54 British pence, 61.16 Euro cents, 74.79 Japanese yen, $NZ1.06
• US: Dow Jones +2.1pc at 26,642, S&P 500 +1.3pc at 3,197, Nasdaq +0.9pc at 10,488
• Europe: FTSE 100 +0.1pc at 6,179, DAX -0.8pc at 12,697, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.7pc at 3,037
• Commodities: Brent crude +0.8pc at $US43.06/barrel, spot gold +0.3pc at $US1,809.08/ounce, iron ore +0.5pc at $US112.40/tonne

All 30 stocks on the US blue chip index finished higher, led by machinery manufacturing giant Caterpillar (+4.8pc) and energy companies Chevron (+3.5pc) and Exxon Mobil (+3.3pc).
US bank stocks were mixed, after some reported their quarterly earnings to the market.
Shares in JP Morgan Chase rose modestly (+0.6pc), after it beat estimates with its profit result but tipped a tough economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
On a teleconference, JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon noted that government and bank assistance is currently propping up borrowers and “the recessionary part” will come later.
The bank saw revenue surge, driven by its trading business as record volumes went through financial markets during the past few months.
Meantime, Wells Fargo shares fell by 4.6 per cent, after posting its first quarterly loss since 2008.
Combined with Citigroup (-3.9pc), the banks set aside $US28 billion ($40 billion) to cover potential losses on bad loans due to coronavirus.
The spot gold price rose to $US1809 an ounce, as investors bought safe haven assets as well as stocks.
“On days when stocks are up and gold is up, part of the story is the

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