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Global Shares Mostly Higher on Techs 03/24 04:51
Global shares were mostly higher on Monday after gains in technology stocks
snapped Wall Street's four-week losing streak.
HONG KONG (AP) -- Global shares were mostly higher on Monday after gains in
technology stocks snapped Wall Street's four-week losing streak.
European markets opened higher. Britain's FTSE100 added 0.5% to 8,685.74 and
the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5% to 8,080.93.
Germany's DAX advanced 0.7% to 23,051.54 after the country's business
activity in private sectors hit a ten-month high, with a smaller-than-expected
contraction in manufacturing.
The future for the S&P 500 surged 1%, while that for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average picked up 0.7% as investors awaited developments on U.S.
President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Reports suggested that he may narrow his broad approach to focus on
countries that run significant trade surpluses with the U.S., including many
countries in Asia.
President Donald Trump has set an April 2 deadline to impose more tariffs on
trading partners. It follows a series of other deadlines that have been set for
tariffs only to be postponed, sometimes at the last minute.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang struck a conciliatory tone during a meeting with
business leaders and U.S. Senator Steve Daines, a strong supporter of President
Donald Trump, who is the first member of Congress to visit Beijing since Trump
took office in January.
Relations between the countries "have come to an important juncture," Li
said. "Our two sides need to choose dialogue over confrontation, win-win
cooperation over zero-sum competition," he said, adding that China hoped that
the U.S. would work together to promote the steady and sustainable development
of the China-U.S. relations.
The meeting also involved the leaders of several American businesses,
including FedEx Corp. CEO Raj Subramaniam, Boeing Co.'s senior vice president
Brendan Nelson, Qualcomm's CEO Cristiano Amon and Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla.
"In recent days, Trump administration officials have signaled that the list
of affected countries may not be universal, and existing tariffs -- such as
those on steel -- may not necessarily be cumulative," Junrong Yeap of IG said
in a commentary, adding that , "optimism has surfaced that Trump's tariff plans
may once again be more bark than bite."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 23,787.71, and the Shanghai Composite
Index rose 0.2% to 3,370.03.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 edged 0.2% lower to 37,608.49 after a preliminary
report on manufacturing showed output falling at its fastest pace in a year,
while new orders fell more quickly.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1%, closing at 7,936.90, while Korea's Kospi
lost 0.4% to 2,632.07.
On Friday, the S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, gaining 0.5% for the week. But it was
still down 4.8% so far this month.
The Dow industrials eked out a 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5%.
Technology stocks bounced back to offset a big share of the declines
elsewhere in the S&P 500. The sector has been at the center of much of the
market's recent sell-off in a reversal from their market-driving gains
throughout the previous year.
Stocks have been losing ground for weeks over uncertainty about the
direction of the U.S. economy. A trade war between the U.S. and its key trading
partners threatens to worsen inflation and hurt both consumers and businesses.
Inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's goal of 2% and tariffs
could hurt the central bank's efforts to ease the rate of inflation.
A recent batch of economic reports on home sales, industrial production and
unemployment reinforced the view that the economy is holding strong. But other
reports on consumer sentiment and retail sales have revealed rising caution
from consumers.
Businesses have been warning investors about tariffs, inflation and growing
uncertainty about the impact to costs.
In other dealings Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil declined 15 cents to
$68.13 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 17 cents to $71.99 per
barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 149.62 Japanese yen from 149.37 yen. The euro inched
up to $1.0840 from $1.0816.
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