World Shares Rebound

Stock markets rebounded in Europe and Asia on Monday after last week’s selling sparked by tensions between the US and North Korea. News that Japan’s economy expanded at a better-than-expected 4% annual pace in April-June failed to lift Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 benchmark, which sank as the yen stayed firm against the dollar.

Germany’s DAX gained 1% to 12,135.92 and Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.5% to 7,349.32. The CAC 40 of France surged 0.9% to 5,105.83. Wall Street looked set for gains, with Dow futures up 0.4% at 21,933.00 and S&P 500 futures adding 0.6% to 2,453.70, AP reported.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index sank 1% to 19,537.10 on selling of shares in export manufacturers whose profits would be hurt by a stronger yen. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.4% to 27,250.23 and Australia’s S&P ASX 200 surged 0.7% to 5,730.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.6% to 2,334.22 and the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.9% to 3,237.36. Shares in Southeast Asia were mostly higher.

 “Asian markets are poised to retrace some of last week’s losses at the start of the week with jitters within equity markets appearing to have declined over the weekend. Early movers in the region including the South Korean and Taiwan markets had both opened with moderate gains,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.

The dollar rose to 109.57 yen from 109.19 yen late Friday. Investors tend to view the Japanese yen as a safe haven in times of crisis, and before the last flare up between President Donald Trump and North Korea it had been trading at about the 111 yen level. The euro slipped to $1.181 from $1.182.

The Australian dollar, which is usually sensitive to Chinese economic data, was softer after China data released on Monday missed expectations. The Aussie dollar traded at $0.790 after the data release, compared to levels around $0.7914 seen just before. The Australian currency traded at $0.789.

Benchmark US crude lost 4 cents to $48.78 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 23 cents to settle at $48.82 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slipped 13 cents to $51.97. It rose 20 cents to $52.10 a barrel in London.