Global Stocks Mostly Higher Tuesday
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Global shares were mostly higher in quiet trading on Tuesday after U.S. markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday.
KEEPING SCORE: European stocks were mixed in early trading with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent to 6,866.16. France's CAC 40 added 0.2 percent to 4,549.61 and Germany's DAX also edged up 0.2 percent to 10,697.18. Wall Street was set for a lukewarm start after the holiday. Dow futures added 0.1 percent while S&P futures also gained 0.1 percent.
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ASIA'S DAY: Asian stocks finished mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 percent to 17,081.98 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 2,066.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.6 percent to 23,787.68 and India's Sensex jumped 1.5 percent to 28,958.05. The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.6 percent to 3,090.71, but Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 5,413.60.
JAPAN STIMULUS: The Bank of Japan is reviewing its ultra-lax monetary easing, which has taken the central bank's policy rate into negative territory. In a speech Monday, Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda offered mixed signals on policy direction. The upshot was "it is logical to infer that the Bank will conduct further easing," to achieve Japan's 2 percent inflation target, said Hiroshi Ugai of JP Morgan in Tokyo. "Kuroda did not share the view that there is a limit to monetary easing," he added.
G-20: The Group of 20 major economies wrapped up their annual summit, held in Hangzhou, China, with a stronger commitment to coordinate policies to support growth and promote trade liberalization. The gathering also launched a new initiative to work on curbing excess steel production capacity, especially in China, which may help smooth tensions over the issue.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 44 cents to $44.88 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It jumped $1.28 to $44.44 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, lost 28 cents to $47.35 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The euro strengthened to $1.1165 from $1.1149, and the dollar fell to 103.29 yen from 103.45 yen.
(KA)