Global stocks higher after Wall Street fall, Brexit approval

Joe McDonald, The Associated Press</span>
Published Thursday, November 15, 2018 2:00AM EST
Last Updated Thursday, November 15, 2018 4:39AM EST

BEIJING -- Most global stock markets rebounded Thursday after Britain's Cabinet endorsed a draft agreement to leave the European Union and Wall Street fell.

KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, London's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 per cent to 7,071.60 and German's DAX advanced 0.5 per cent to 11,473.84. France's CAC 40 rose 0.5 per cent to 5,094.94. On Wednesday, the CAC 40 lost 0.7 per cent, the DAX dropped 0.5 per cent and the FTSE 100 shed 0.3 per cent. On Wall Street, futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.5 per cent.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 per cent to 2,668.17 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.7 per cent to 26,103.34. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.2 per cent to 21,803.62 and Seoul's Kospi advanced 1 per cent to 2,088.06. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 3 points to 5,736.00. India's Sensex rose 0.6 per cent to 35,339.44. Bangkok and New Zealand retreated while Taiwan and other Southeast Asian markets rose.

WALL STREET: U.S. markets were dragged down by losses for tech companies, banks and insurers. Apple Inc. lost 2.8 per cent. Bond prices rose as traders shifted money into low-risk assets. That pulled yields down, which hurts banks by driving interest rates on loans lower. Energy stocks rebounded as crude oil prices snapped a 12-day losing streak. The S&P 500 and Dow both lost 0.8 per cent. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.9 per cent.

BREXIT: Prime Minister Theresa May persuaded the British Cabinet to back an agreement to separate from the European Union, triggering the final steps toward Brexit. May said the decision is a "decisive step" toward finalizing the exit deal with the EU within days, though it was unclear whether Parliament will go along. The deal would allow Britain to stay in a customs union, bound by EU rules, while the two sides negotiate a trade treaty. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the two sides agreed to avoid a "hard border" between Ireland, a member of the trade bloc, and Northern Ireland.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Despite the U.K. Cabinet backing the new Brexit draft plan, the boost for markets had been short-lived with the sea of worries overruling sentiment," said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report. Asian markets are "taking after the poor leads from Wall Street" due to "little data" due out in the region.

AUSTRALIAN JOBS: Government data showed employment rose by 32,800 in October, above market expectations for a gain of 20,000. The jobless rate stayed at 5 per cent. The annual rate of job creation rose to 2.5 per cent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 11 cents to $56.36 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 56 cents on Wednesday to close at $56.25. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 38 cents to $66.50 per barrel in London. It gained 65 cents the previous session to $66.12.

CURRENCY: The dollar weakened to 113.49 yen from Wednesday's 113.63 yen. The euro strengthened to $1.1340 from $1.1309.

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