AP – Global shares mostly rose yesterday as investors were encouraged by another rally on Wall Street.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.7 per cent to 8,132.14. Germany’s DAX added 1.3 per cent to 23,450.65, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to 8,720.83.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials were nearly unchanged.
In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 per cent to finish at 37,845.42.
The Bank of Japan was expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a monetary policy board meeting due to wrap up today.
The United States (US) Federal Reserve also is due to announce its latest decision on interest rates today. Shares in major Japanese trading companies rose after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported increases in its ownership of those companies.
Itochu Corp. rose 2.5 per cent, Marubeni Corp added 3.5 per cent, and Mitsubishi Corp gained 3.6 per cent, while Mitsui and Co shares were up 3.1 per cent.
The investments, although still under 10 per cent in each company, are seen as an expression of confidence in the Japanese economy.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.5 per cent to 24,740.57, led by buying of tech-related stocks. The Shanghai Composite inched up 0.1 per cent to 3,429.76.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose nearly 0.1 per cent to 7,860.40. South Korea’s Kospi inched up less than 0.1 per cent to 2,612.34.
Trading on Indonesia stock exchange was suspended temporarily as the benchmark JSX tumbled as much as six per cent.
But it bounced back a bit, falling 3.8 per cent. Investors have been selling shares in state-owned banks after the government launched a sovereign wealth fund, called Danantara, that so far has not proven popular.
Worries over US President Donald Trumps tariff increases and other risks have also shaken confidence in the economy, said professor Budi Frensidy at the University of Indonesia.
US stocks have been mostly tumbling on worries over President Donald Trump’s policies, including tariffs.
The Federal Reserve isn’t expected to make a move on interest rates today. The central bank has been keeping rates steady so far this year, preferring to see how conditions play out. On Wall Street, stocks climbed again on Monday as the wild roller-coaster ride veered upward.
