London (AFP) – European markets were little changed Monday while US stocks resumed their upward climb after last week’s record highs, as rising oil prices boosted petroleum-linked equities.
London and Frankfurt saw small gains while Paris was flat in the absence of major European data or company earnings. Trading was subdued as it is a national holiday in France and parts of Germany.
On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent in opening minutes, with the broad-bases S&P 500 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also posting similar gains.
US stocks had hit all-time highs last week.
Dow members Chevron and ExxonMobil were both up about 0.5 percent as oil prices rose on speculation that producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would agree to limit output next month and ease the global supply glut.
In London BP shares were up over one percent in afternoon trading.
Most Asian markets climbed Monday but Tokyo dipped as official figures showed Japan’s economy stalled in the second quarter.
Data showed growth in the world’s third largest economy was flat at zero percent quarter-on-quarter, missing predictions for a 0.2 percent expansion in the April-June period, on weak exports and lower business spending.
Japanese officials are under increasing pressure to deliver as economists are writing off Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s years-long bid to cement a lasting recovery, dubbed Abenomics.
Tokyo recently announced a whopping 28 trillion yen ($276 billion) package aimed at kickstarting growth.
“The recently announced fiscal and monetary stimulus measures were clearly insufficient to satiate the market’s appetite,” said London Capital Group analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
“The bulk of investors expect to hear more measures from the government and Bank of Japan (BoJ) to boost growth. The problem is that neither the BoJ, nor Shinzo Abe’s government have much left in their pockets to satisfy the unappeasable hunger for free liquidity.”
– Shanghai jumps –
Elsewhere in Asia, Sydney, Wellington and Kuala Lumpur also saw gains, even after poor economic data from the eurozone and the United States on Friday left stocks under pressure.
Chinese shares rallied on hopes the government would soon launch a scheme to link trading on the Shenzhen exchange with the Hong Kong bourse.
Hong Kong rose 0.7 percent, while Shanghai finished the day up 2.4 percent after the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Friday that the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme would be launched this year.
China launched a landmark “stock connect” between Shanghai and Hong Kong in late 2014, which allowed investors to trade selected stocks on Shanghai’s tightly restricted exchange and let mainland investors buy shares in Hong Kong.
– Key figures around 1345 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 6,944.22 points
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.2 percent at 10,731.12
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 4,500.02
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.04 percent at 3,046.22
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 16,869.56 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 2.4 percent at 3,125.20 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.7 percent at 22,932.51 (close)
New York – DOW: UP 0.3 percent at 18,635.71
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1189 from $1.1165
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2884 from $1.2918
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 101.05 yen from 101.27 yen
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