TOKYO, Aug 9 (AP): Global shares mostly rose Wednesday despite worries about the US banking system which set off a decline on Wall Street, and concerns closer to home about Chinese economic growth.
France’s CAC 40 added 1.3 per cent in early trading to 7,366.35, while Germany’s DAX jumped 1.1 per cent to 15,944.74. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8 per cent to 7,584.18.
US shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up nearly 0.1per cent at 35,426.00.
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S and P 500 futures rose 0.2 per cent to 4,528.50.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.5 per cent to finish at 32,204.33. Australia’s S and P/ASX 200 edged up 0.4per cent to 7,338.00. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2 per cent to 2,605.12.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3 per cent to 19,246.03, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.5 per cent to 3,244.49.
Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, called the export data out of China “rather alarming,” noting it was the sharpest decline in three years and reflected global economic challenges, not just in China.
“Global demand is falling precipitously,” he said.
“It is now very likely we will all be surprised by just how intense this global economic slowdown becomes. The three major economies of the world — US, China and the EU — are leading the downward charge.”
In the US, bank stocks fell after Moody’s cut the credit ratings for 10 smaller and midsized ones and put six others under review.
It cited a list of concerns about their financial strength, from the effects of higher interest rates to the work-from-home trend that’s leaving office buildings vacant.
The Federal Reserve has hiked its main interest rate to the highest level in more than two decades in hopes of grinding down inflation. High rates work by slowing the entire economy bluntly, which has raised the risk of a recession.
Later this week, the US government will release data on consumer and wholesale inflation, which could influence what the Federal Reserve does next with interest rates.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude added 21 cents to USD 83.13 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 16 cents to USD 86.33 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 143.24 Japanese yen from 143.36 yen. The euro cost USD 1.0982, up from USD 1.0960.
