Global shares mostly gain, focus on China-U.S. talks, Fed

Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press</span>
Published Tuesday, August 21, 2018 7:28AM EDT

TOKYO -- Global shares were mostly higher in subdued trading Tuesday, tracking gains in Asia despite doubts over the prospects for resolving the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 climbed 0.5 per cent to 5,406.69 and Germany's DAX added 0.5 per cent at 12,388.87. Britain's FTSE 100 was virtually unchanged, slipping by less than 0.1 per cent to 7,586.77. The future contract for the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.1 per cent to 25,789.00 while the contract for the S&P 500 added less than 0.1 per cent to 2,859.20.

FEDERAL RESERVE: Minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting are due out Wednesday and could provide insights into the latest thinking on rate hikes at a time when President Donald Trump has been stepping up criticism of tightening by the U.S. central bank. The minutes will be followed by Fed chairman Jerome Powell's comments Friday to the annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

TRADE TENSIONS: Investors are closely watching for any prospects for an end to the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The costly, dueling tariffs between them are causing uncertainty in global markets. Hopes rose late last week on news that China will send an envoy to Washington this month to discuss a way out of the standoff before President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in November.

ANALYST'S VIEWPOINT: "Equities were broadly up supported by hopes on U.S.-China trade talks even though Trump expressed a conservative view overnight by saying that he does not anticipate much progress and he has no time frame for ending the trade dispute," Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 advanced nearly 0.1 per cent to finish at 22,219.73, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost nearly 1.0 per cent to 6,284.40. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.0 per cent to 2,270.06 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.6 per cent to 27,752.79 and the Shanghai Composite surged 1.3 per cent to 2,733.83. Shares were higher in Taiwan but fell in Singapore.

ENERGY: U.S. benchmark crude was flat at $65.42 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, rose 8 cents to $72.29.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 110.19 yen from 110.06 yen late Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1533 from $1.1484.

Let's block ads! (Why?)