World shares are mixed as Chinese markets reopen
BANGKOK— European shares were lower after a mixed session in Asia as Chinese markets reopened Monday from a long Lunar New Year holiday.
US futures rose slightly while oil prices declined. Markets will be closed Monday in the United States for President’s Day.
Germany’s DAX shed 0.4% to 17,056.23 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.5% to 7,729.47. In London, the FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower, to 7,705.28.
In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1% to 16,155.61 on heavy selling of technology and property shares despite a flurry of announcements by Chinese state banks of plans for billions of dollars’ worth of loans for property projects.
Major developer Country Garden dropped 4.2% and Sino-Ocean Group Holding plunged 3.9%. China Vanke lost 3.8%.
The Shanghai Composite index gained 1.6% to 2,910.54.
“The reopening of China’s markets after the Lunar New Year holiday typically garners attention, given China’s significant influence on global trade and economic activity,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report. “However, the market reaction has been muted, possibly influenced by the US public holiday and the overall quiet week for US data.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell less than 0.1% to 38,470.38.
Major video games maker Nintendo’s shares sank 5.8% following unconfirmed reports that the successor to the Switch console would not be delivered within 2024.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 7,665.10 and the Kospi in Seoul picked up 1.2%, to 2,680.26. Bangkok’s SET added 0.1% and the Sensex in India was up 0.4%.
On Wall Street on Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% from its all-time high set a day earlier and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite sank 0.8%.