Markets waver on concerns over US-China trade dispute
2.1%
Drop in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index
singapore — Global shares were mixed Monday as European shares wavered following widespread losses for Asian benchmarks. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.1 per cent to 7,084.73 while the CAC 40 in France edged less than 0.1 per cent higher to 5,103.97. Germany’s DAX gained 0.1 per cent to 11,524.98.
Wall Street was positioned for slight losses. The Dow future contract fell 0.3 per cent to 25,175.00. That for the S&P 500 eased 0.2 per cent to 2,717.90.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.6 per cent at 21,898.99 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.9 per cent to 2,076.92. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 2.1 per cent to 25,934.39. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.4 per cent to 2,665.43. The S&P ASX/200 in Australia fell 0.5 per cent to 5,818.10. Shares fell in Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand but rose in the Philippines.
Chinese President Xi Jinping Xi promised Monday to reduce costs for importers and raise consumer spending power at a high-profile trade fair in Shanghai. But Xi did not address an escalating dispute over Beijing’s technology policy. Global markets rose Friday after Chinese officials and President Donald Trump said a phone conversation between the two leaders had gone well. But fears resurfaced that the bullish talk might have been aimed at scoring political points just ahead of US midterm elections.
“Investors are far too wary of an empty promise, but ultimately, they will need to decide how much of President Trump’s olive branch to China was a ploy to boost equity markets ahead of the US midterm elections on Tuesday and how much of it is a bona fide attempt to reach an agreement,” Stephen Innes of OANDA said in a commentary.
The office of British Prime Minister Theresa May has dismissed reports the country is close to reaching a divorce agreement with the European Union. In particular, Downing Street said a Sunday Times report, which claimed the two sides had agreed on future customs arrangements at the IrelandNorthern Ireland border, was “speculation.”