World Shares Mixed Ahead Of Wall St Reopening

London: European shares advanced on Tuesday after a mixed and quiet session in Asia following the Memorial Day holiday in the US. US futures and European shares have gained after President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50 per cent tariff on goods from the European Union. The EU's chief trade negotiator said on Monday he had “good calls” with Trump administration officials and that the bloc was “fully committed” to reaching a trade deal by a July 9 deadline.

Last week, Trump had said on social media that trade talks with the European Union “were going nowhere” and that “straight 50 per cent” tariffs could go into effect on June 1. The future for the S&P 500 was up 1.5 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.3 per cent. Data on US consumer confidence and housing prices were due later in the day.

In London, the FTSE 100 gained 1.1 per cent to 8,818.08, reopening after a British holiday on Monday. Germany's DAX added 0.7 per cent to 24,205.92, while the CAC 40 in Paris picked up 0.3 per cent to 7,850.31.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 reversed early losses to gain 0.5 per cent, closing at 37,724.11 after the central bank's said he anticipates raising interest rates in coming months due to inflationary pressures. Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda cited rising food prices, with rice prices doubling in the past year, as one factor.

Inflation in Japan is now higher than in the US or Europe and above the BOJ's target level of about 2 per cent. But the central bank also has to take into account trade policies, he said without directly mentioning Trump's tariff hikes. Risks from uncertainty for the global economy complicate the BOJ's goal of raising its very low benchmark interest rate of 0.5 per cent, Ueda said in a speech Tuesday. “We are now closer to the target than at any time during the last three decades, though we are not quite there. Our recent path has been affected in a unique way by supply shocks,” Ueda said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4 per cent to 23,381.99, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2 per cent to 3,340.69.