World shares mixed on trade outlook, tighter China oversight

Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press</span>
Published Tuesday, March 13, 2018 3:57AM EDT
Last Updated Tuesday, March 13, 2018 6:35AM EDT

BANGKOK -- Shares were mixed in Europe and Asia on Tuesday after China announced it was shaking up its financial regulatory regime.

KEEPING SCORE: Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1 per cent to 7,210.78 while the CAC 40 of France added 0.3 per cent to 5,293.67. Germany's DAX rose 0.1 per cent to 12,433.34. S&P 500 futures edged 0.1 per cent higher to 2,792.80 and Dow futures climbed 0.2 per cent to 25,285.00, pointing to early gains on Wall Street.

CHINA WATCHDOG: China announced plans Tuesday to create a newly powerful regulator to oversee scandal-plagued banking and insurance industries as they try to reduce debt and financial risks. The move is in line with the ruling Communist Party's efforts to tighten control over state-owned entities that dominate industries including banking, telecoms and energy in an effort to make them more efficient and productive.

QUALCOM-BROADCOM: Singapore-based computer chipmaker Broadcom said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with Trump's order to block its proposed acquisition of Qualcomm on the grounds it raises national security concerns. The decision, announced late Monday, abruptly ended Broadcom's four-month, $117 billion bid to buy Qualcomm -- a deal that would have been the largest ever completed in the technology industry. Broadcom's Singapore connections complicated matters, even though the company maintained its physical headquarters in Silicon Valley and virtually all of its shareholders are in the U.S.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.7 per cent to 21,968.10 while South Korea's Kospi added 0.4 per cent to 2,494.49. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was flat at 31,601.45 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.5 per cent to 3,310.24. Australia's S&P ASX 200 dropped 0.4 per cent to 5,974.70. India's Sensex lost 0.4 per cent to 33,791.35. Shares rose in Taiwan and were mixed in Southeast Asia, with the SET in Thailand down 0.2 per cent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 15 cents to $61.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 68 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $61.36 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, declined 21 cents to $64.74 per barrel. It shed 54 cents to $64.95 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 106.90 yen from 106.41 late Monday. The euro fell to $1.2330 from $1.2336.

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