Tech stocks drive world shares higher

World shares and US futures advanced on Monday, with South Korea’s market leading gains in Asia thanks to strong buying of tech-related and shipbuilders’ shares.

European benchmarks began the week with gains. Germany’s DAX climbed 0.9 per cent to 24,165.15, and the FTSE 100 edged 0.1 per cent higher to 9,731.48. In Paris, the CAC 40 was up 0.3 per cent to 8,145.80. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 per cent higher, while that for the S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent.

On Friday, Amazon led the US stock market higher, gaining 9.6 per cent after it reported a much bigger profit than analysts had expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent and the Dow industrials gained 0.1 per cent. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.6 per cent to 23,724.96.

Crude prices rose and then fell as the United Arab Emirates opened a major oil summit Monday, just after the OPEC+ group of the cartel and its allies announced they would halt planned production increases for early 2026.

In Asian trading, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.8 per cent to 4,221.87, yet another record close. Computer chip maker SK Hynix’s shares soared 11 per cent, helped by recent moves to team up with Nvidia in developing the country’s artificial intelligence infrastructure and capabilities. Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, gained 3.4 per cent.

South Korean shipbuilders also logged gains after China said it would cancel added port fees on US-invested or US-flagged vessels after US President Donald Trump met last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday. Chinese markets also gained. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng picked up 1 per cent to 26,158.36.

Gains for technology shares were offset by declines for gold shops like Chow Tai Food Jewellery Group. Its stocks dropped 8.7 per cent after the Chinese government reduced the amount of tax rebates on sales of the precious metal. The rebates have been one factor behind a frenzy of gold purchasing that has helped push its price to record levels recently. However, Chinese buying is just one reason for the rally in gold prices. Many investors have been investing in gold as a hedge against uncertainties, and that includes central banks.

A private sector measure of factory activity, the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI, showed an overall slowing of manufacturing in China, to 50.6 in October from 51.2 in September. That’s on a scale from zero to 100, where 50 marks a level of expansion. The official PMI reading by the National Bureau of Statistics, released Friday, likewise showed factory activity slowing, to 49 last month from 49.8 in September.

The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.6 per cent to 3,976.52. Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex picked up 0.4 per cent. There was no immediate or obvious reaction to Trump’s assertion that Chinese leader Xi had promised not to take any action against the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, while Trump was in office.

The long-contentious issue of Taiwan did not come up in Trump’s talks with Xi on Thursday in South Korea, which largely focused on US-China trade tensions, Trump said.