Tokyo: Global shares were mixed in a muted reaction Tuesday to the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
France’s CAC 40 gained 0.1% to 7,739.02, while Germany’s DAX was flat at 20,988.89. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% to 8,533.10.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%. US markets were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday.
Some analysts said the inauguration would inject optimism into global markets, while others said the threat of higher tariffs might hurt sentiment.
Trump’s release of an “America First Trade Policy” memo after he took office Monday indicated he would take no immediate action on raising tariffs, possibly alleviating immediate concerns about threats of double-digit tariffs on all imports. However the plan calls for a broad reassessment and overhaul of US trade policy.
“In a twist that calmed nerves across global markets … President Trump revealed he would not, contrary to expectations, roll out new tariffs immediately,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
Worries about the effects of Trump’s policies on China have eased somewhat as both sides have pledged to work to improve relations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.9% to 20,106.55, in part lifted by embattled Chinese property developer Country Garden, whose shares jumped 17.5% after it got a reprieve on its deadline for working out an agreement with its creditors.
The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,242.62.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to finish at 39,027.98, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 8,402.40. South Korea’s Kospi slipped less than 0.1% to 2,518.03.
Shares in Fuji Media Holdings, of which major Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV is a part, recouped earlier losses, to finish 2.1% higher. The earlier decline came after dozens of companies, including Toyota Motor Corp, decided to stop airing television commercials that accompany Fuji TV shows. The stock price has zigzagged recently as a sex scandal unfolded, reported by weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude declined 97 cents to $76.42 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 32 cents to $79.84 a barrel.
In currency trading, the dollar was unchanged at 155.64 Japanese yen. The euro cost $1.0362, down from $1.0416.
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