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Global Stocks Follow Wall Street Higher

New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange

Most global stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Friday on strong US earnings, as investors watched the inter-Korean summit.

In early trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.8% to 12,600.90 and France’s CAC 40 added 0.1% to 5,460.95. London’s FTSE 100 edged up 7 points to 7,428.50. On Wall Street, futures for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.2% and the future for the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.3%, AP reported.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3,082.23 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.7% to 22,467.87. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.9% to 30,280.67 and Seoul’s Kospi was 0.7% higher at 2,492.40. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 5,939.60 and India’s Sensex climbed 0.8% to 35,003.46. New Zealand, Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets also rose.

At Wall Street, stocks climbed as Facebook led a rally by technology companies. Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks and United Parcel Service reported higher first-quarter profits. Strong results from companies including Chipotle Mexican Grill and O’Reilly Automotive helped retailers and other consumer-focused companies. Energy companies also climbed.

The S&P 500 index rose 1% to 2,666.94. The Dow Jones industrial average added 1% to 24,322.34. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 1.6% to 7,118.68.

At the Korea summit, Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader to visit South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953 when he stepped across their heavily armed border for talks Friday with the South’s president, Moon Jae-in, about the North’s nuclear program.

“For good reasons, US markets rose overnight and this change looks set to play into higher Asia Pacific markets into the end of the week,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report. “However, eyes remain on key items, including the Bank of Japan and the two Koreas’ meetings alongside a slew of data to keep us occupied.”

Benchmark US crude fell 26 cents to $67.93 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 14 cents on Thursday to close at $68.19. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 27 cents to $73.61 per barrel in London. It jumped 65 cents the previous session to $73.88.

The dollar declined to 109.33 yen from Thursday’s 109.29 yen. The euro slipped to $1.208 from $1.210.

 

 

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