TOKYO (AP) – Global shares were mostly higher yesterday after technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record finish.
France’s CAC 40 added nearly 0.9 per cent in early trading to 7,298.06. Germany’s DAX rose 0.7 per cent to 20,041.15, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent to 8,360.63.
United States (US) shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures rising less than 0.1 per cent to 44,921.00. S&P 500 futures rose nearly 0.1 per cent to 6,065.50.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9 per cent to finish at 39,248.86. Shares in Tokyo Electron surged 4.3 per cent after the US Commerce Department expanded the list of computer chip-related companies subject to export controls.
Some analysts think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from President-elect Donald Trump’s latest threats to raise tariffs on other countries.
During the weekend, Trump threatened 100 per cent tariffs against a group of developing economies, iif they act to undermine the US dollar.
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 1.3 per cent and the Sensex in India was up 0.8 per cent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 per cent to 8,495.20. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.9 per cent to 2,500.10, after inflation data showed a rebound but remained low enough to keep rate-cut hopes alive for early 2025.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.0 per cent to 19,746.32, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4 per cent to 3,378.81. Unconfirmed reports said Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss planning for the coming year, an annual economic work meeting that investors are hoping to bring fresh stimulus to help spur growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
This week also brings several big updates on the US job market, including the October job openings report, weekly unemployment benefits data and the all-important November jobs report.
They could steer the next moves for Federal Reserve (Fed), which recently began pulling interest rates lower to give support to the economy.
Economists expect Friday’s headliner report to show US employers accelerated their hiring in November, coming off October’s lackluster growth that was hampered by damaging hurricanes and strikes.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent from the previous session’s all-time high to post a record for the 54th time this year, closing at 6,047.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 per cent to 44,782.00, while the Nasdaq composite gained one per cent to 19,403.95.
In energy trading early yesterday, benchmark US crude gained 50 cents to USD68.60 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 55 cents to USD72.38 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose to JPY149.90 from JPY149.59. The euro inched up to USD1.0525 from USD1.0500.
