Global shares mostly rise on U.S., Mexico trade deal

Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press</span>
Published Tuesday, August 28, 2018 7:38AM EDT

TOKYO -- Global shares were mostly higher Tuesday after the White House said it reached a preliminary agreement with Mexico on replacing a North American free-trade deal.

KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 rose 0.1 per cent in early trading to 5,485.39, while Germany's DAX was up 0.2 per cent at 12,561.44. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.7 per cent to 7,630.36. U.S. shares were set to be flat with Dow futures virtually unchanged at 27,078. S&P 500 futures gained less than 0.1 per cent to 2,899.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 finished at 22,813.47, up 0.1 per cent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 per cent to 6,304.70. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.2 per cent to 2,303.12. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 per cent to 28,333.14 after fluctuating throughout the day. The Shanghai Composite index inched down 0.1 per cent to 2,777.98, adjusting from its gains the previous day.

TRADE DEAL: Asian economies generally benefit from trade deals that will encourage exports to the U.S. The Nasdaq composite index topped 8,000 for the first time after the North American Free Trade Agreement news, although the trade deal isn't final. The U.S. still needs to reach an understanding with Canada, the third party in the accord.

THE QUOTE: "Risk sentiment continues to improve with U.S. markets bolstered by the ... latest NAFTA progress, set to inspire Asian market higher into the session," said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

TOYOTA GAINS: Toyota Motor Corp. shares got a perk from the NAFTA news as the top Japanese automaker benefits from free trade. The manufacturer was also boosted by its announcement that it was investing $500 million in ride-hailing service Uber and will partner with it to build self-driving cars. Toyota was trading up nearly 2 per cent in the morning session on the Tokyo Stock Exchange but settled at 0.9 per cent higher in the afternoon.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 14 cents to $68.73 a barrel. It edged up 0.2 per cent to $68.87 a barrel in the New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 4 cents to $76.25 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar inched down to 111.18 yen from 111.19 late Monday. The euro rose to $1.1684 from $1.1611.

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