World shares are mixed ahead of Trump’s speech at Davos

US futures were higher, and world shares traded mixed ahead of US President Donald Trump’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Markets have appeared to steady somewhat after gyrating following Trump’s threats to slap higher tariffs on eight European countries over their opposition to his push for US control of Greenland. Gold prices crossed the $4,800 mark for the first time, gaining 2.2 per cent as money flowed into assets considered to be safe havens at times of uncertainty.

Bouncing back from steep losses on Tuesday, the future for the S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 per cent. Germany’s DAX shed 0.4 per cent to 24,607.57, and the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.2 per cent to 8,050.40. Britain’s FTSE 100 was nearly unchanged at 10,124.24. Traders were waiting for Trump’s planned speech to world leaders, elites and billionaires gathered in Davos.

Trump told reporters he planned to highlight his administration’s accomplishments during his address. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who spoke on a panel on Tuesday, said the US message was that “globalisation has failed.”

Trump’s Air Force One returned to Washington after its crew identified “a minor electrical issue” while he was on his way to Davos. He boarded another aircraft and resumed his trip. In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 per cent to 52,774.64. Markets in Japan have been riled both by geopolitical uncertainty and by domestic issues.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called a snap election for Feb. 8, sending yields of long-term government bonds to record levels.

The assumption is that Takaichi, who is capitalising on strong public support ratings to try to consolidate a majority for her Liberal Democratic Party, will cut taxes and boost spending, adding to the challenges Japan faces in handling its massive government debt.

The yield on the 40-year Japanese government bond was trading at 4.061 per cent early Wednesday, down from the all-time high of 4.22 per cent that it hit on Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5 per cent to 4,909.93. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rebounded to add 0.4 per cent to 26,585.06. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1 per cent higher, to 4,116.94.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave back 0.4 per cent to 8,782.90. Taiwan’s Taiex fell 1.6 per cent and India’s Sensex lost 0.4 per cent. Trump has said he will impose 10 per cent tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland beginning in February.

That would be on top of a 15 per cent tariff specified by a trade agreement with the European Union that has yet to be ratified. European leaders have hit back as Washington’s relations with its Western allies sour, considering countermeasures, including perhaps slow-walking ratification of the trade agreement or ordering retaliatory tariffs, analysts say.