BANGKOK – World shares were mixed on Thursday and the U.S. dollar weakened as investors caught their breath following recent bouts of volatility.
Traders were turning to U.S. updates on durable goods orders, jobs and consumer spending and what say about how President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs are affecting the economy, analysts said.
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Germany's DAX surged 0.7% to 23,661.67. In Paris, the CAC 40 edged 0.1% higher to 7,565.46. Britain's FTSE 100 also gained 0.1% to 8,729.71.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.3% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 barely budged, closing just 0.8% below its all-time high set in February. The Dow dipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.7% to 39,584.58 as attention shifted to a July 9 deadline for trade agreements to help stave off higher U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Japan's lead trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, was due to visit Washington for another round of talks, with 25% U.S. import duties on Japanese vehicles a main point of contention.
Chinese markets were mixed. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.6% to 24,325.40, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.2% to 3,448.45.
In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.9% to 3,079.56 as traders sold shares to lock in recent gains.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 8,550.80.
Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.3% and the SET in Bangkok also gained 0.2%.
In the oil market, which has been the center of much of this week’s action, crude prices have stabilized after plunging by roughly $10 per barrel earlier this week.
Benchmark U.S. crude lost 10 cents early Thursday to $64.82 per barrel, though it still remains below where it was before the fighting between Israel and Iran broke out nearly two weeks ago.
Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 5 cents to $66.38 per barrel.
A fragile ceasefire between the two countries appears to be holding, at least for the moment.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.27% from 4.30% late Tuesday.
Yields had dropped a day earlier after the chair of the Federal Reserve told Congress it is waiting for the right moment to resume cutting interest rates. By lowering rates, the Fed could give the economy a boost, but it could also fuel inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated to a Senate committee Wednesday that he wants to wait and see how Trump’s tariffs affect the economy and inflation before committing to its next move. He added it's possible that tariffs won’t increase inflation by very much.
Trump has pushed for rate cuts to help reduce interest costs the federal government pays on its debt and he has sharply criticized Powell for not reducing borrowing costs, calling him a “numbskull” and a “fool,” adding to speculation that he will move to replace the central bank's chair to seek more influence over the Fed.
That has helped pull the U.S. dollar lower.
Early Thursday, the dollar was trading at 143.79 Japanese yen, down from 145.26 yen. The euro rose to $1.1739 from $1.1661.
“Traders smelled what this was, an open audition for for who can promise the deepest cuts and the most pliant policy,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.