TOKYO – Global shares rose Tuesday as investors appeared hopeful for positive news from the trade talks between the United States and China.
Strong economic data and better-than-expected corporate earnings have buoyed U.S. shares since early October, while “markets remain convinced that we will see the phase-one trade deal finalized before the next major tariff increase deadline of December 15th,” analyst Edward Moya of Oanda said in a report.
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Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1.1% to 7,390, while Germany’s DAX rose 1% to 13,333. France’s CAC 40 added 0.3% to 5,947.
U.S. shares were tracking higher with Dow futures up 0.2% at 28,050. S&P 500 futures were also up 0.2% at 3,129.
Chinese indexes rose as political protests in Hong Kong quieted somewhat, with police tightening a blockade at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Hundreds of demonstrators who left the campus after a violent weekend were arrested.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.6% to 27,093.80, while the Shanghai Composite index rose nearly 0.9% to 2,933.99.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.5% to finish at 23,292.65. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to 6,814.20. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.3% to 2,153.24.
Markets seemed to react with calm to news that Trump summoned Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the White House on Monday to discuss the economy and interest rates — issues where the president has repeatedly attacked the Fed, which is meant to be independent of politics.
Trump tweeted Monday that his meeting with Powell was “very good and cordial.” He added that they discussed “interest rates, negative interest, low inflation, easing, Dollar strength and its effect on manufacturing, trade with China, E.U. and others, etc.”
The Fed said in a statement that Powell’s message to Trump during their meeting was similar to the one he expressed in congressional testimony last week, when he said that the economy is in good shape and that the Fed would likely suspend its rate cuts for now. The central bank has cut its benchmark short-term rate three times this year to try to support the economy.
ENERGY: Benchmark oil fell 60 cents to $56.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 67 cents to $57.05 a barrel Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 61 cents to $61.83 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 108.72 Japanese yen from 108.68 yen on Monday. The euro ticked up to $1.1079 from $1.1072.