World shares mixed on China tariff fears

singapore — World shares were mixed on Wednesday on uncertainties over trade, as news the US and China may be working to reopen trade talks was overshadowed by talk of plans for even higher tariffs on Chinese imports.

Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.8 per cent to 7,686.98 and Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 per cent to 12,786.35 on Wednesday. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6 per cent to 5,517.38. Wall Street was set for a subdued open. Dow futures was 0.1 per cent lower at 25,379.00. S&P 500 futures was almost flat at 2,816.70.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9 per cent to 22,746.70 and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5 per cent to 2,307.07. The Shanghai Composite index tumbled 1.8 per cent to 2,824.53. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.9 per cent to 28,340.74. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 lost 0.1 per cent to 6,275.70. Shares were higher in Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore.

Bloomberg News reported that US and Chinese officials are looking for ways to reopen trade talks. Earlier last month, both nations placed import taxes on $34 billion worth of goods, and they’ve been threatening more severe measures. In another report, Bloomberg said the Trump administration will propose raising tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 per cent, from the planned 10 per cent. It cited three people familiar with internal negotiations. If proven true, negotiations may be a long-drawn affair even if both parties agree to start talking.

On Tuesday, private surveys showed that manufacturing was slowing in China and Japan. China’s Caixin Manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was 50.8 in July, slightly lower than 51.0 in June. The Nikkei Japan Manufacturing PMI eased to 52.3 in July from 53 a month earlier. Readings above 50 indicate expansion while lower numbers indicate contraction on the indexes’ 100-point scale.

“There were clearly some negatives for markets in news that the US was planning to raise tariffs on China. Although PMI readings from China and Japan were not stunningly bad, they added to the negative turn in the region today,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said in an interview.

Apple made more money from higher priced iPhones in the latest quarter, even as the number of phones it sold did not change much. Apple unit sales rose just one per cent from a year ago, but the average selling price grew 20 per cent to $724 per iPhone, up from $606 a year ago.