A man walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. Asian shares are mostly higher in muted trading on Monday, as worries about the pandemic keep optimism in check, despite the rally that closed out last week on Wall Street. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Global shares were mostly higher Monday, though worries about the pandemic kept optimism in check
TOKYO: Global shares were mostly higher Monday, though worries about the pandemic kept optimism in check
France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.2% in early trading to 4,955.07, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.1% at 13,069.35. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 6,031.20. U.S. shares were set for a steady outset to the week, with Dow futures rising 0.2% to 28,581. S&P 500 futures were up nearly 0.5% at 3,489.88.
A two-day European summit in Brussels later in the week could have implications for Brexit negotiations, analysts said.
European Union officials say they finally are seeing progress in trade talks with the United Kingdom, but they insist it is no guarantee an agreement will be delivered in time to get a basic trade deal delivered by the end of the month. Legislators face an end-of-year deadline with a transition period in the wake of Britains departure from the bloc.
Chinese shares led advances in Asia. Hong Kongs Hang Seng jumped 2.2% to 24,649.68, while the Shanghai Composite added 2.6% to 3,358.46.
But elsewhere, investors growing wary over upcoming earnings reports have been cashing in recent gains, helping pull Japanese shares lower. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.3% to finish at 23,558.69. Big exporters logged some of the largest losses, with Toyota Motor Corp. falling 0.8% and Honda Motor Co. shedding 1.8%.
Japan reported core private sector machinery orders edged 0.2% higher in August, contrary to forecasts for a decline. But overall, economic indicators remain weak.
Other Asian benchmarks rose. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5% to 2,403.73. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 6,132.00. Shares also rose in Taiwan, India and Southeast Asia.
While U.S. politics remain center stage, a string of Asia releases and monetary policy meeting decisions will be watched this week, said Jingyi Pan, senior market strategist at IG in Singapore, referring to central bank meetings in South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore.
Indicators out of China, such as trade and inflation readings, also remain on investors’ minds.
Wall Street closed out its best week in three months on Friday as negotiations on Capitol Hill aimed at delivering more aid to the ailing U.S. economy encouraged investors. Signs as of late Sunday were not promising. A new White House coronavirus aid proposal got bad reviews from both ends of the political spectrum.
On Friday the White House increased its offer to $1.8 trillion, up from $1.6 trillion, according to a Republican aide familiar with the plan. Pelosis most recent public proposal was about $2.2 trillion, though that included a business tax increase that Republicans wont go for.
Worries persist that Congress and the White House wont deliver more support for the economy as it reels from the impact of the pandemic and concerns that stock prices simply got too high during the summer.
Other major challenges remain, chief among them the still-spreading coronavirus pandemic, highlighted by President Donald Trumps own COVID-19 diagnosis.
In energy trading, US. benchmark crude lost 79 cents to $39.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 59 cents to $40.60 per barrel on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 80 cents to $42.05 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 105.50 Japanese yen from 105.53 yen last Friday. The euro slipped to $1.1813, from $1.1824.
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