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US open: Dow opens higher despite civil unrest and trade tensions

By Iain Gilbert

Date: Tuesday 02 Jun 2020

US open: Dow opens higher despite civil unrest and trade tensions

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading began on a mostly positive note on Tuesday as market participants remained optimistic about the reopening of the US economy despite a wave of civil unrest spreading across the country.
As of 1535 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.62% at 25,632.02 and the S&P 500 was 0.28% firmer at 3,064.22, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.02% weaker at 9,550.43.

The Dow Jones opened 157.00 points higher on Tuesday, extending gains recorded on Monday that came after major averages registered their first back-to-back monthly advances since late 2019.

While futures briefly fell after Donald Trump threatened to deploy the US military to silence protesters if states and cities failed to do so, investors seemingly shrugged off their concerns at the opening bell and continued to focus on the reopening of the nation's economy.

Heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing were also in focus as China requested state-owned companies to cease purchases of soybeans and pork from the US after the President said the White House would seek to revoke Hong Kong's favoured trade status due to a new security law passed by the Chinese parliament. However, a report that Chinese companies had purchased at least three cargo loads of US soybeans boosted sentiment later on.

Oanda's Edward Moya said: "US equities advanced higher after Chinese firms continued to purchase US soybeans, alleviating concerns that China was halting US agricultural imports.

"Stock optimism is not going away as pandemic concerns ease and that the national crisis that includes looting, fires and violence is expected to be temporary."

In corporate news, the likes of American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest were all up at the open, while MoneyGram shares surged on reports of a potential acquisition by Western Union.

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