Global Stocks Rally as Investor Fears Over Banking Turmoil Ease

Stocks around the globe rallied Tuesday as worries over the international banking sector abated in response to a raft of interventions by policymakers. 

The Dow Jones Industrial index was trading 0.5% higher in late morning trade, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1.3% in afternoon trade, while the region’s Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Index, which measures the 42 biggest EU and UK banks, leapt 3.9%. London’s bank-heavy FTSE 100 index rose 1.8% in afternoon trade, while France’s CAC 40 swelled by 1.4% and Germany’s DAX climbed 1.7%.

In Asia Pacific, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 grew by 1.3%, boosted by its AXFJ index, a measure of banking stocks, before closing the day some 0.8% higher. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index finished 1.4% up, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed after showing a 0.6% gain.

These positive shifts came after a more settled day on Wall Street that saw investors grow in confidence over the banking sector’s prospects.

Earlier in the week, central banks across the Asia Pacific region moved to make announcements designed to dampen concerns about the financial industry. Officials in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines also went to lengths to explicitly assure consumers that their money was safe following the emergency bailout of Credit Suisse and the turmoil in the US banking sector. 

In total, markets around the world were becalmed after extensive efforts by banking authorities to take control of the situation.