BEIJING — Global stock markets rose Monday following Wall Street’s strong week as traders looked ahead to data releases from China, Japan and the Eurozone.
KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.4 per cent to 13,372.75 and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.3 per cent to 5,486.07. London’s FTSE 100 was off 7 points at 7,717.49. On Friday, the DAX gained 1.2 per cent, the CAC 40 added 1.1 per cent and the FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent. On Wall Street, the future for the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2 per cent while that for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was unchanged.
ASIA’S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 per cent to 3,409.48 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.3 per cent to 30,899.53. Seoul’s Kospi advanced 0.6 per cent to 2,513.28 and India’s Sensex added 0.5 per cent to 34,338.08. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 edged up 0.1 per cent to 6,130.40 and benchmarks in Taiwan and most of Southeast Asia also rose. New Zealand the Philippines declined.
WALL STREET: Stocks rose for a fourth day, led by tech companies after a solid monthly jobs report. U.S. markets are on their longest new year winning streak in eight years. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 0.7 per cent to 2,743.15. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.9 per cent to 25,295.87. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.8 per cent to 7,136.56.
WEEK AHEAD: India reports trade on Wednesday, with forecasters expecting solid gains, while China reports a flurry of data including inflation and bank loan growth. The Eurozone reports factory output growth on Thursday. On Friday, China is due to release December trade, with a double-digit rise expected following a weak 2017, while the United States reports monthly inflation.
ANALYST’S TAKE: “This is a big week of event risk,” Chris Weston of IG said in a report, pointing to emerging markets trade and U.S. inflation. Weston said investors also are looking forward to U.S. earnings later this week, but the picture is “a little more challenging” as companies bring forward charges for repatriating cash under Washington’s tax changes. “This reporting season could be a catalyst, but it does promise to be somewhat messier than prior quarters, not to mention sentiment towards U.S. equities is already sky high.”
U.S. JOBS: The Labor Department said employers added 148,000 jobs in December. That was a bit less than experts expected, but still underscored the continued health of the economy. Wages grew and factory managers received more new orders than in any month since 2004. “This is still fairly impressive in the context of a low unemployment rate,” Mizuho Bank said in a report.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 8 cents to $61.2 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 57 cents on Friday to close at $67.62. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 8 cents to $67.54 in London. It fell 45 cents the previous session to $67.62.
CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 113.24 yen from Friday’s 113.07 yen. The euro declined to $1.1989 from $1.2032.
