Breather for investors as global stocks rebound

Nasdaq and Dow Jones were trading lower, while S&P-500 fell for its 9th drop in 11 days

Hong Kong:World shares were mostly higher on Friday and oil prices jumped about $2 after the Israeli military said its troops and tanks had briefly entered northern Gaza. Germany’s DAX gained 0.4 per cent to 14,796.41 while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.4per cent to $6,861.30. Britain’s FTSE 100 picked up 0.2 per cent to 7,367.42. The futures for the S&P-500 was up 0.6per cent and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent. On Thursday, the S&P-500 fell 1.2 per cent for its ninth drop in 11 days. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.8 per cent and the Dow sank 0.8 per cent. Worries that the latest Israel-Hamas war might lead to a wider conflict, disrupting oil supplies from elsewhere in the region, have been pushing oil prices higher. Early Friday, US benchmark crude was up $1.98 at $85.18 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up $2.18 on Thursday.

Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.94 to $88.88 a barrel. It shed $2.07 on Thursday. In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.3 per cent to 30,991.69 as an unexpectedly high reading for consumer inflation in Tokyo raised hopes the central bank might finally end its longstanding near-zero interest rate policy.

Tokyo core consumer inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 2.7 per cent in October, the Statistics Bureau reported Friday. As a leading indicator of nationwide trends, it suggests a broader trend of rising prices. Chinese shares also halted their recent slide as the government reported that profits at China’s industrial firms extended gains for a second month in September, rising nearly 12 per cent, following policy measures to help stabilise the slowing economy. Industrial profits rose 17.2per cent in August in the first expansion in more than a year. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 2.1 per cent to 17,398.73 and the Shanghai Composite index added 1 per cent to 3,017.78. The Kospi in Seoul gained 0.2per cent to 2,302.81. Australia’s S and P/ASX 200 was up 0.2 per cent to 6,826.90. Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.4 per cent higher and Bangkok’s SET jumped 1.3 per cent.

Wall Street retreated Thursday, dropping nearly 10 per cent below its high mark for the year, after big-name companies warned an uncertain global economy may hurt their profits. Meta Platforms was among the market’s heaviest weights, sinking 3.7 per cent even though the parent company of Facebook and Instagram reported fatter profit and revenue for the summer than analysts expected. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.86 per cent, from 4.96 per cent late Wednesday, after reports showed the US economy continues to storm ahead despite much higher interest rates that have already lashed the stock market.