World shares retreat following Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader

Manila: World shares mostly retreated Thursday in choppy trading after President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. While Trump said the meeting was “amazing” and had resolved many issues, investors appeared sceptical. US futures were nearly flat.

In early European trading, Germany’s Dax rose 0.1 per cent to 24,155.02. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5 per cent to 9,705.49. In Paris, the CAC 40 slid 0.2 per cent to 8,183.55. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index bounced lower and then inched up less than 0.1 per cent to 51,325.61 after the Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged. Chinese markets gave up early gains, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shedding 0.2 per cent to 26,282.69. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7 per cent to 3,986.90. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Thursday cut its base rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent. It always follows the US lead in interest rate policies since the value of Hong Kong’s currency is linked to the US dollar.

South Korea’s Kospi index broke through the 4,000 mark for the first time, edging up 0.1 per cent to 4,086.89 after climbing more than 1 per cent earlier in the day following reports of progress in Washington’s trade talks with South Korea. Solid corporate earnings also boosted shares in tech, auto and shipbuilding. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed nearly 0.5 per cent to 8,885.50, pulled lower by losses in real estate and consumer discretionary stocks.