Global stocks higher after wobbly trading on Wall Street

Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press</span>
Published Tuesday, November 27, 2018 11:42PM EST
Last Updated Wednesday, November 28, 2018 3:36AM EST

TOKYO -- Global shares were mostly higher Wednesday after a wobbly day of trading on Wall Street and uncertainty ahead of the G-20 meeting of world leaders later in the week.

KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 was up 0.4 per cent in early trading at 5,004.04, while Germany's DAX also added 0.4 per cent to 11,350.38. Britain's FTSE 100 rose nearly 0.5 per cent to 7,049.96. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures adding 0.3 per cent to 24,809. S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 per cent at 2,686.70.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1 per cent to finish at 22,177.02, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, inching down less than 0.1 per cent to 5,725.10. South Korea's Kospi recovered to 2,108.22, up 0.4 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.3 per cent to 26,682.56, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.1 per cent to 2,601.74. Southeast Asian benchmarks were lower, with shares down in the Philippines and Indonesia.

EYES ON G-20: World leaders are arriving in Buenos Aires for this week's G-20 summit, where a variety of issues are gaining attention, from trade worries to the presence of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. His possible involvement is under scrutiny in the slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

TRADE WORRIES: Worries remain about pan-Pacific trade tensions, which could hurt Asian economic growth. President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal this week he expects to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports on Jan. 1. His administration recently imposed a 10 per cent tax on those imports, and at the start of the year that's scheduled to rise to 25 per cent. Trump has also threatened to place tariffs on all remaining U.S. imports from China.

THE QUOTE: "Traders had been hoping that we would have seen an improved tone between the two powers by now," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, about U.S.-China talks. "Any market optimism of easing trade tensions is misplaced."

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 65 cents to $52.21 per barrel. It fell 0.1 per cent to $51.56 a barrel in New York Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 70 cents to $61.10 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar edged up to 113.86 yen from 113.48 yen late Tuesday in Asia. The euro fell to $1.1280 from $1.1340.

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