Asia
Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region regained some composure after Tuesday’s selloff, despite another fall on the Dow Jones yesterday.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index, which on Tuesday closed at levels last seen in September 2016, inched higher today but still remains below the crucial 3,000 support level. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng made a steady recovery too.
Japan was one of the better performers today as the safe haven yen trade reversed – the US dollar reclaimed the 110 yen level. The Nikkei 225 received the usual stimulus from a softer yen, rising over 1% to 22,555.
Europe
The euro remained under pressure after comments yesterday by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi outlining its “patient” approach to the end to quantitative easing.
Eurozone exchanges were higher, with Spain’s Ibex the pick of the main indices.
New FTSE 100 entrant Ocado (OCDO) was the top of the leaderboard this morning with a gain of around 5% after a broker issued a note saying that its IT system could become the industry standard for the retail sector.
At the bottom end of the blue-chip index, property developer Berkeley Group (BKG) suffered from the current investor aversion to housebuilding stocks. Full-year profits were up 15% but revenue declined, and the shares fell over 4%.
The FTSE 100 itself was up over 1% to just under 7,700 points.
North America
Trade war fears continue to set the backdrop for markets and despite Asia and Europe’s modest recovery today, US stocks are expected to endure a rough ride this week.
Weekly crude oil and gasoline inventories are due today ahead of a crucial OPEC meeting at the end of the week. Stronger oil prices have become a political issue in recent weeks with President Trump mindful of higher costs for US drivers this summer. Sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have complicated calls from the US administration to up output. The Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh told reporters this week that “oil is not a political tool”.
The Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is speaking today at the central bank conference in Portugal.
General Electric’s (GE) exit from the Dow Jones after more than 100 years has raised eyebrows but the shares fell just under 2% in the end.