News Highlights: Top Global Markets News of the Day - Monday at 1 AM ET

Title: Market Rally Continues with the Absence of Tech Giants and China's Robust Recovery

The US stock market witnessed a remarkable performance on Monday, April 1, 2024, as the major indices rallied despite the absence of two tech giants, Apple and Tesla, from the S&P 500 index. This development has been seen as a positive sign by some investors, suggesting that other sectors and groups are taking the lead in driving market growth.

The S&P 500 index closed up by 0.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.9%. Apple and Tesla, which together account for approximately 12% of the total weight in the S&P 500 index, were not part of this rally due to their respective corporate actions. Apple announced a 4-for-1 stock split, while Tesla was not included in the index due to its eligibility requirements.

Meanwhile, in international news, China's manufacturing sector showed signs of recovery as stimulus measures began to take effect. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing came in at 50.8 in March, up from 49.6 in February, marking the first expansion since August 2023. This improvement indicates that China's manufacturing sector is gradually recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures.

The Australian dollar strengthened against the US dollar, with AUD/USD trading at around 0.7373, as optimism over China's economic recovery boosted demand for commodity-linked currencies like the Australian dollar. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its interest rate at a record low of 0.1% and signaled no imminent change in monetary policy, further supporting the Australian dollar.

In other news, crude oil prices continued their upward trend, with Brent crude oil trading above $65 per barrel, as OPEC+ agreed to gradually increase production from May, while the US crude oil inventories showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in the latest week.

The US Treasury yields remained relatively stable, with the benchmark 10-year yield hovering around 1.67%, while the 2-year yield stood at 0.25%.

In corporate news, Microsoft Corporation reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal Q3 2024, with revenue growing by 20% year-over-year to $43.1 billion, driven by its cloud business and LinkedIn platform. Microsoft's stock price rose by more than 3% in after-hours trading following the earnings release.

In summary, the US stock market continued its upward trend on Monday, April 1, 2024, with major indices gaining ground despite the absence of Apple and Tesla. China's manufacturing sector showed signs of recovery, and the Australian dollar strengthened against the US dollar, while Microsoft reported strong earnings, contributing to the overall positive sentiment in the markets.