Global stock markets rise

beijing — Global stock markets rose on Monday amid uncertainty about an escalating US-Chinese tariff dispute after President Donald Trump said a settlement was possible but his advisers said other nations might add to pressure on Beijing.

In early trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.8 per cent to 12,337.62 and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.5 per cent to 5,283.30. London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent to 7,197.00. On Friday, the DAX lost 0.5 per cent, the CAC 40 fell 0.3 per cent and the FTSE 100 declined 0.2 per cent. On Wall Street, the future for the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.9 per cent and that for the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 0.8 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent to 3,138.29 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.5 per cent to 21,678.26. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.3 per cent to 30,229.58 and Seoul’s Kospi added 0.6 per cent to 2,444.08. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.3 per cent to 5,808.70 and India’s Sensex advanced 0.4 per cent to 33,772.50. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Taiwan and Southeast Asia also rose.

Trump said Washington and Beijing can settle their tariff dispute but his economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said a “coalition of the willing” — including Canada, much of Europe and Australia — was being formed to pressure China. Kudlow said while Washington hoped to avoid taking action, Trump “was not bluffing.”