Global stocks follow Wall Street higher

Joe McDonald, The Associated Press</span>
Published Tuesday, August 7, 2018 6:41AM EDT

BEIJING -- Global stock markets followed Wall Street higher Tuesday as strong corporate profits helped to defuse fears over U.S.-China trade tensions.

KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, Germany's DAX rose 1.0 per cent to 12,726.57 and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.9 per cent to 5,526.12. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 per cent to 7,706.30. On Monday, the DAX lost 0.1 per cent and the CAC 40 fell less than 0.1 per cent while the FTSE added 0.1 per cent. On Wall Street, the future for the Dow Jones industrial average was 0.3 per cent higher and that for the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.2 per cent.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.7 per cent to 2,779.37 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7 per cent to 22,662.74. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.5 per cent to 28,248.88 and Seoul's Kospi was 0.6 per cent higher at 2,300.16. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.3 per cent to 6,253.90 and India's Sensex was 0.1 per cent higher at 37,739.62. Benchmarks in Taiwan and New Zealand declined.

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks finished higher for a third day on gains for media, retail and technology companies. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway led gains for the financial sector. Investors focused on quarterly results instead of U.S. and Chinese trade threats. Profits have rocketed higher this year thanks to the corporate tax cut and economic growth. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.2 per cent to 25,502.18 while the Standard & Poor's 500 added 0.4 per cent to 2,850.40. The Nasdaq picked up 0.6 per cent to 7,859.68.

ANALYST'S TAKE: U.S. earnings "are inspiring the bulls at present," said Chris Weston of Pepperstone Group in a commentary. "But for how much longer?" U.S.-China tension "will become a more pressing market issue in the next two months," he said.

CHINA INVESTMENT: A government newspaper said Beijing planned to issue policies to encourage investment amid concern about slowing economic growth and trade tensions. The China Daily said some state banks issued orders to local branches to step up lending. The report, citing an unidentified official of the Cabinet planning agency, said spending on infrastructure is one target for support but gave no other details.

IRAN NUCLEAR: The Trump administration reimposed U.S. economic sanctions on Iran despite opposition from European allies who want to preserve an agreement to limit Iranian nuclear activity. President Donald Trump complained the 2015 deal left Tehran flush with cash to fuel conflict in the Middle East. European allies said they "deeply regret" the U.S. action.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 41 cents to $69.42 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 52 cents on Monday to $69.01. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 55 cents to $74.30 per barrel in London. It advanced 54 cents the previous session to $73.75.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 111.29 yen from Monday's 111.40 yen. The euro gained to $1.1590 from $1.1554.

Let's block ads! (Why?)