TOKYO — Global shares traded mixed Thursday, with French and German shares gaining, while falling in Britain. Earlier in Asia, major benchmarks finished lower.
Worries about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies remain high on global investors’ minds.
France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4% in early trading to 8,142.89, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.3% to 22,507.07. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 8,684.84. U.S. shares were set to trade mixed with Dow futures up nearly 0.2% at 44,627.59, while the S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% to 6,148.00.
Major Asian benchmarks declined across the board. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.2% to finish at 38,678.04. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.2% to 8,322.80, while South Korea’s Kospi lost nearly 0.7% to 2,654.06.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 1.6% to 22,576.98, after China left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, in a move it said was meant to maintain financial stability. The Shanghai Composite shed less than 0.1% to 3,350.78.
“The yuan has been under siege, with foreign-exchange outflows surging last month as Trump’s tariff rhetoric sent shockwaves through markets,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
In energy trading in Asia Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 31 cents to $71.94 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 21 cent to $75.83 a barrel.
Analysts are watching recent currency fluctuations, with the yen strengthening against the U.S. dollar, at one point to below 150 yen. The Federal Reserve has indicated it may wait a while before it’s ready to cut rates.
In Thursday’s trading in Asia, the U.S. dollar slipped to 150.35 Japanese yen from 151.37 yen. The euro cost $1.0436, up from $1.0428.
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Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press
AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed.
