Despite weak demand, oil rose to a hair above $58/barrel. Some believe that attacks on Nigerian oil facilities helped support prices, afterall the fundamentals of crude oil look fairly gloomy. This spike in crude sent United States Oil (USO) up 3% in morning trading.
Globally speaking, there was a lot of action going on in India. The nation’s benchmark stock index soared a whopping 17% , its bonds rose and its currency, the rupee, gained some ground on the U.S. dollar. Share trading came to a halt after the Sensex breached a daily limit set by regulators. This rally was fueled after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress Party won nationwide elections. This victory set the scene for long-delayed economic reforms in the nation. The WisdomTree India Earnings (EPI) jumped 22% in morning trading.
Overall, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 gained about 2%, while the Nasdaq jumped about 1% in morning trading.
Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.