|
Global Shares Gain on Mideast, Fed 06/18 05:04
Global shares were mostly higher Wednesday and oil prices slipped as
investors awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which
was expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a straight time.
HONG KONG (AP) -- Global shares were mostly higher Wednesday and oil prices
slipped as investors awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal
Reserve, which was expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a
straight time.
Oil prices continued to gyrate as the conflict in the Middle East
intensified.
U.S. benchmark crude oil fell 84 cents to $72.43 per barrel. Brent crude,
the international standard, lost 86 cents to $75.59 per barrel. Crude prices
had jumped more than 4% on Tuesday
Fighting between Israel and Iran has driven prices for crude oil and
gasoline higher because Iran is a major oil exporter sitting on the narrow
Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude passes. Past
conflicts in the area have caused spikes in oil prices, though they tend to
abate in the absence of disruptions in oil supplies.
In share trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.1% to 23,455.04, while Britain's FTSE
100 added 0.2% to 8,853.62.
The CAC 40 in Paris picked up 0.2% to 7,701.69.
Japan reported its exports fell in May as the auto industry was hit by
Trump's higher tariffs, with exports to the U.S. falling more than 11%. But
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 0.9% to 38,885.15.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.1% to 23,710.69 while the Shanghai Composite
Index added less than 0.1% to 3,388.81.
The Kospi in Seoul gained 0.7% to 2,972.19 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200
shed 0.1% to 8,531.20.
The nearly unanimous expectation among traders and economists is that the
Fed will make no move as it wraps up its policy meeting on Wednesday. The U.S.
central bank has hesitated to lower interest rates and it has been on hold this
year after cutting at the end of last year. It's waiting to see how much
Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation, which has remained
relatively tame recently and is near the Fed's target of 2%.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks slumped under the weight of higher oil prices and
weaker than expected retail sales in May.
The S&P 500 fell 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7%. The
Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%.
Pricier oil can help stocks of companies in the solar industry because they
increase the incentive to switch to alternative energy sources. But solar
stocks tumbled Tuesday on the possibility that Congress may phase out tax
credits for solar, wind and other energy sources that produce fewer emissions
that change the Earth's climate.
Enphase Energy dropped 24% and First Solar fell 17.9%.
Treasury yields fell after a report said shoppers spent less last month at
U.S. retailers than the month before. Solid spending has been one of the
linchpins keeping the economy out of a recession, but part of May's drop may
have simply been a return to more normal trends.
In April, some shoppers had rushed to buy automobiles to get ahead of
Trump's tariffs.
Verve Therapeutics soared 81.5% after Eli Lilly said it would buy the
company developing genetic medicines for cardiovascular disease in a $1 billion
deal that could be worth up to $1.3 billion if certain conditions are met.
Lilly's stock fell 2%.
In currency trading Wednesday, the U.S. dollar fell to 144.97 Japanese yen
from 145.29 yen. The euro edged higher to $1.1506 from $1.1480.
|
|