AP – European shares opened higher after a mixed trading session in Asia yesterday following another record close for the S&P 500.
Germany’s DAX added 0.1 per cent to 18,500.63. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.4 per cent to 8,240.07. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3 per cent at 7,957.26.
The future for the S&P 500 was 0.1 per cent lower and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
The dollar remained strong against the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, a trend that has unsettled regulators in both Tokyo and Beijing.
The dollar rose to JPY151.45 from JPY151.30. The euro slipped to USD1.0803 from USD1.0828.
On Wednesday, the dollar rose to nearly JPY152, its lowest level since 1990, and Japanese officials reiterated their desire for stability in exchange rates.
“As the yen continues to show vulnerability, market participants will be vigilant for any hints of possible intervention in the currency market by Japanese policymakers,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary.
The dollar bought CNY7.2286. It also has weakened against the dollar in recent weeks.
“We continue to think that policymakers in China and Japan will do enough to keep their currencies from weakening much further, but the risk of a break lower in one, or both, is increasing,” Jonas Goltermann of Capital Economics said in a report.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.5 per cent to 40,168.07. The Kospi in Seoul also fell, shedding 0.3 per cent to 2,745.82.
Chinese markets recouped losses from the day before. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.9 per cent to 16,541.42, while the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.6 per cent to 3,010.66.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped one per cent to 7,896.90. India’s Sensex added 1.6 per cent and Taiwan’s Taiex slipped 0.3 per cent.
In Bangkok, the SET gave up 0.3 per cent.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9 per cent to a record 5,248.49 in its first gain since setting its last all-time high on March 21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.2 per cent to 39,760.08, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.5 per cent to 16,399.52. Both finished a bit shy of their own records.
Merck climbed five per cent after federal regulators approved its treatment for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare disease where blood vessels in the lungs thicken and narrow.
Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group rose another 14.2 per cent. The company behind the money-losing Truth Social platform has zoomed well beyond what critics said is rational, as fans of former president Donald Trump keep pushing it higher.
GameStop tumbled 15 per cent after delivering a profit for the latest quarter and a drop in revenue from the prior year. It’s the original meme stock, predating Trump Media by years.
This week’s highlight for markets may arrive today, when the United States (US) government releases the latest monthly update on spending by US consumers.
It will include the measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) prefers to use as it sets interest rates.
Both the US bond and stock markets will be closed for Good Friday. That could cause some anticipatory trades to bunch up yesterday, the last trading day of the year’s first quarter.
