Asian shares tumble echoing overnight rout on Wall st
China gains on talks of help for economy by ramping up policy support
Tokyo: Global shares were mixed Wednesday, with European shares advancing after a retreat in Asia, though mainland Chinese stocks rebounded as Beijing redoubled confidence-boosting efforts with promises of more support for the slowing economy.
US futures were higher and oil prices also rose, but modestly. The focus was on energy markets. Gas prices surged as much as 24 per cent in Europe and the euro weakened after Russia said it would cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Faith Birol, head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency called Moscow's decision a "weaponisation of energy supplies," and said the organisation would support the two countries while encouraging other European countries to reduce reliance on oil and gas from Russia.
"The move increases the possibility of a near-term stand-off between Russia and the rest of the EU on whether to meet Russia's demand to pay for gas in rubles," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. France's CAC 40 gained 0.4 per cent in early trading to 6,436.83. Germany's DAX edged up 0.3 per cent to 13,803.24. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent to 7,399.85. The future for the Dow industrials gained 1.1 per cent while that for the S&P 500 added 1.0 per cent.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite index gained 2.5 per cent and the smaller Shenzhen benchmark jumped 4 per cent after state media reported various efforts by the ruling Communist Party to counter the blow to the economy from pandemic lockdowns in dozens of cities and resulting disruptions to trade and manufacturing.
Among various moves by the central bank and other regulators, a meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs chaired by President Xi Jinping on Tuesday backed the building of infrastructure "conducive to China's industrial development and national security," the Communist Party newspaper Global Times reported. Analysts said investors are watching for the outcome of a meeting of the party's powerful Politburo this week for further measures to boost slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
