Global shares up, China trading closed for national holiday
Global shares rose Friday amid mixed signs for investors such as rising energy prices and COVID-19 restrictions easing in China.
European shares edged up in early trading, with France’s CAC 40 gaining 0.3% to 6,517.73. Germany’s DAX added 0.3% to 14,528.45, while trading was closed in Britain for a national holiday.
Trading also was closed in China for the Dragon Boat Festival, a national holiday. Benchmarks in the rest of Asia edged higher, cheered by a rally overnight on Wall Street.
The future for the Dow industrials was down 0.2% at 33,161.00. The S&P; 500 future fell 0.3% to 4,164.75.
Market players are closely watching for U.S. non-farm employment data later in the day, and a slew of economic data on Japan next week. An OPEC meeting Thursday where oil-producing nations decided to boost some output failed to steady energy prices significantly.
“To say the OPEC meeting outcome disappointed expectations would be an understatement,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
Japan and the U.S. signed a revision on the “beef safeguard” mechanism under the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, which will help American beef producers meet Japan’s growing demand for high-quality beef. The deal will reduce the chances Japan’s safeguard duties would be imposed on U.S. beef, both sides said. That happened in early 2021.
“Together, the United States and Japan are demonstrating our commitment to working together on shared priorities to achieve concrete, economically meaningful results for our people,” said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.3% to finish at 27,761.57. Australia’s S&P;/ASX 200 added 0.9% to 7,238.80, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,670.65.
Trading has been choppy in recent days as investors remain worried about inflation and the interest rate increases the U.S. Federal Reserve is using to fight it. Wall Street is concerned that the Fed could slow economic growth too much and potentially send the economy into a recession.
Meanwhile high inflation is eating into corporate profits, while the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 restrictions in China have also weighed on markets.
Bond yields were relatively stable. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set interest rates on mortgages and other loans, fell to 2.91% from 2.93% from late Wednesday.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude dipped 59 cents to $116.28 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 53 cents to $117.08 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 129.97 Japanese yen from 129.87 yen. The euro cost $1.0763, up from $1.0752.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
