ZCZC
BCN-02
WORLD-MARKETS
Stock markets mostly up as crunch G20 summit gets underway
NEW YORK, June 29, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – European and US stocks climbed on
Friday as investors kept a watch on developments at a Group of 20 summit in
Japan, where US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping
are due for a high-stakes discussion on trade.
As heads of the world’s 20 leading economies began their summit in Osaka,
Trump said he was hopeful that Saturday’s talks would be “productive.”
Global equities have enjoyed a largely positive couple of weeks on hopes
for progress in the head-to-head meeting between the leaders of the world’s
top two economies, though the possibility of failure persists.
“Optimism has been limited at best,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market
analyst at the trading firm IG.
“The fact that the trade conflict has lasted this long sends a message that
both sides are not rushing towards a deal, or are prepared to make
significant concessions.”
In Europe, both Paris and Frankfurt closed with solid gains, while London
edged up 0.3 percent.
On Wall Street, the broad-based S&P 500 finished the session at 2,941.76,
up 0.6 percent for the day. The index has risen 17.3 percent so far this
year, the best first half of a year since 1997.
The mood in Asia was more downbeat with Shanghai ending down 0.6 percent
and Tokyo and Hong Kong each off 0.3 percent.
The dollar was down slightly against the euro and pound, while sterling did
not react to official data confirming that Britain’s Brexit-facing economy
grew by 0.5 percent in the first quarter.
– ‘Greatest threat’ –
Saturday’s Trump-Xi meeting is “hugely important as the trade war
represents arguably the greatest threat to the global economy — especially
if it is allowed to escalate further,” Craig Erlam of Oanda trading group
told AFP.
There remains some uncertainty about how the meeting will go, with The Wall
Street Journal reporting that Xi plans to demand the United States reverse a
ban on doing business with Chinese telecoms giant Huawei as a condition for
kick-starting talks.
MORE/HR/0935
ZCZC
BCN-03
WORLD-MARKETS 2 LAST NEW YORK
Trade talks stalled last month, with US officials accusing their Chinese
counterparts of reneging on core commitments negotiated so far.
Some market watchers think the two sides will agree to a cease-fire on new
tariffs but not reach a comprehensive agreement.
Elsewhere on Friday, world oil prices wobbled as dealers await next week’s
output meeting of OPEC and other top crude-producing nations, notably Russia.
OPEC is on red alert over escalating US-Iran tensions that have fueled
recent strong oil-price gains — but producers are likely to extend output
cuts agreed late last year, according to analysts.
“The outcome of the OPEC meeting in Vienna on Monday seems to be a done
deal,” noted City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta.
“Most of the major players have already indicated that the group plans to
extend production cuts put in place in December and there has been no major
dissenting voice among the oil producers.”
– Key figures around 2110 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 26,599.96 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 2,941.76 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 8,006.24 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,425.63 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 5,538.97 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 1.0 percent at 12,398.80 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.9 percent at 3,473.69 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 21,275.92 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 28,542.62 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 2,978.88 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UNCHANGED at $66.55 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 96 cents at $58.47 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1375 from $1.1369 at 2100 GMT
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2700 from $1.2674
Dollar/yen: UP at 107.82 yen from 107.79
BSS/AFP/HR/0940