GLOBAL stocks mostly rose yesterday, with the Dow index in New York lodging its seventh straight gain, as solid banking earnings helped extend a market rally.

Shares of Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Charles Schwab all surged after their results topped estimates.

Following a positive day on European bourses, Wall Street stocks had a muted start to the session on mixed US economic data.

But for the second day in a row, US indices gained momentum as the session progressed. The S&P 500 finished 0.7% higher.

“The theme for today with the banks is ‘better than feared,’” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. “Unless the news is actively disappointing, everything is being taken as good news.”

Sosnick described the market as in “a full-fledged rally mode.”

Data out yesterday showed that US retail sales edged 0.2% higher last month, below analyst expectations.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at trading platform Oanda, said an upward revision of May figures helped balance out the June underperformance.

“I’m not convinced today’s data really changes things as far as the consumer or economy is concerned, all things considered, nor has it really changed anything on interest rate expectations, with markets almost fully pricing in a hike next week and probably no more after that,” he said.

Meanwhile, US industrial output fell by a more-than-expected 0.5% last month. 

In Asia, trading was still dominated by Monday’s disappointing Chinese GDP growth figures.

“Traders are concerned about economic numbers from China and… remain on the edge,” noted Zaye Capital Markets analyst Naeem Aslam.

And while there is expectation that more stimulus measures are in the pipeline, other analysts warned that leaders were limited in how far they could go.

The figures came after last week’s reports showing inflation had flatlined, suggesting China was on the brink of a period of painful deflation, while exports plunged for a second straight month.

Hong Kong led Asian losses yesterday, shedding more than 2% following a five-day rally, as it reopened a day after being shut because of a severe storm.

Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Wellington and Taipei also dropped, though Tokyo, Mumbai and Bangkok edged higher.

Key figures around 2030 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 1.1% at 34,951.93 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7% at 4,554.98 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.8% at 14,353.64 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6% at 7,453.69 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4% at 7,319.18 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4% at 16,125.49 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3% at 4,369.73 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3% at 32,493.89 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1% at 19,015.72 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4% at 3,197.82 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at US$1.1235 from US$1.1236 on Monday

Dollar/yen: UP at  ¥138.87 from  ¥138.71

Pound/dollar: DOWN at US$1.3040 from US$1.3073

Euro/pound: UP at 86.13 pence from 85.94 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.2% at US$75.75 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.4% US$79.63 per barrel – AFP, July 19, 2023.