A positive lead from the US and Europe has seen ASX futures rise sharply despite rising cases in Australia and the US threatening to derail the market.

The fund manager’s positive view of the outlook for equities is also supported by continuing and substantial support provided by central bank policy.
“Equities always have to be weighed relative to the 10-year bond rates,” Mr Hughes said.
“You can still find high quality global companies with dividend yields higher than the current 10 year bond rate. Now that is an attractive investment over the next decade.”
But other signs point to further strain on company earnings and increased economic uncertainty.
“Its clear that the surge in coronavirus cases and the associated negative headlines is starting to impact economic activity,” said AMP’s head of investment strategy Shane Oliver.
“Both the US and Australian Economic Activity Trackers fell over the last week, with Australia seeing weaker readings for consumer confidence, retail foot traffic, restaurants and mobility indexes,” Dr Oliver added, referring to AMP’s high-frequency data monitoring, which draws on information including restaurant bookings, retail foot traffic and mobility data.
As well as concerns over the outbreak of coronavirus cases in Victoria, the threat of further restrictions and lockdowns in the US as authorities grapple with the rising number of cases there, continues to pose a risk to markets, Dr Oliver added.
“Shares are still vulnerable to a further correction or consolidation, particularly if the renewed rise in coronavirus cases in the US and Australia leads to a renewed generalised lockdown and if the recovery in economic indicators continues to falter.”
The US conitnues to set daily record cases of coronavrius, with 68,241 reported by authorities on Friday.
The week ahead will see a read on consumer sentiment released which captures the period in which Victorian authorities were announcing the second round of lockdown measures in response to the outbreak.
“While the resurgence in cases and tighter restrictions may only directly affect about a quarter of the country by population, they come against a run of positive virus news and make the further easing in restrictions planned in many states look more doubtful,” Westpac warned.
On Thursday the latest unemployment numbers for the month of June will be released. The May labour force numbers showed unemployment jumped to 7.1 per cent, its highest level since October 2001, as the economy shed 227,700 jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Payrolls data and the ABS household survey earlier in the week will provide an even more timely indicator of labour market conditions later in June,” National Australia Bank’s head of research, Ivan Colhoun said.
As technology shares continue to storm ahead, analysis from Macquarie Bank noted that the contribution of top 1 per cent of companies among the MSCI ACWI to index returns has risen from 18 per cent to nearly 30 per cent since 2003.
The acceleration of digital trends ushered in by the pandemic will continue to favour global companies such as Amazon, Alibaba and Tencent, Mr Hughes said.