Benzinga | Nov 16, 2020 05:07AM EST

Formation Of World's Biggest Free Trade Bloc Lifts Investor Optimism Globally

Global markets are rallying as Asia-Pacific nations formed the world's largest free-trade bloc on Sunday, lifting global optimism.

The Dow futures are trading higher by 0.86%, and the S&P500 futures are up by 0.80% on the last check Monday. WTI crude oil futures have advanced 1.54% at $40.75, while gold futures are up by 0.29% to $1,891.70. 10-Year Treasury Yield is down by 1.6 basis points to 0.877%.

Asia: Japan's Nikkei 225 rallied 2.05% on Monday after the nation's third-quarter GDP grew by 21.4% year-over-year and 5% quarter-over-quarter. Japan's Industrial Production increased 3.9% MoM in September.

China's Shanghai Composite benchmark gained 1.11% as China's Industrial Production grew by 6.9% YoY. The nation's unemployment rate ticked lower by 0.1% to 5.3%. Foreign Direct Investment in China grew by 6.4% in October. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed higher by 0.86%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.23% on Monday. Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting minutes is scheduled to release today.

India's Nifty 50 is closed, while South Korea's Kospi rallied 1.97% on Monday. The nation's trade surplus narrowed to KRW 5.83 billion.

Europe: Euro Stoxx 50 is trading higher by 0.87% on Monday. European Central Bank members are due to speak later today.

London's FTSE 100 index is up by 0.76% at press time, led by banks, consumer, and energy shares. The House Price Index fell 0.5% MoM.

Germany's DAX is trading higher by 0.58% at publication time, led by gains in banks, automobiles, and industrial stocks.

France's CAC 40 index is up by 1.17% in Monday's trade, while Spain's IBEX 35 benchmark has rallied 2.09%.

Forex Trading: U.S. Dollar Index futures are down by 0.13% to 92.632. The dollar has weakened 0.11% against the Euro to $1.1845, 0.08% against the Japanese Yen to ?104.53, but gained 0.07% against the Sterling Pound to $1.3176.

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