Bond investors are keeping their faith in Asia, a region they view as being relatively stable even as an escalation in the trade war threatens to dent global growth. Asian policy makers have more capacity to support the region’s economies, with inflation running below targets meaning that central banks can cut interest rates if needed, according to Aberdeen Standard Investments. Opportunities can be found in countries such as China and Papua New Guinea, where reforms to open up their markets to foreign investors are taking place, NN Investment Partners said. ...

World stocks edged higher on Friday and oil prices bounced after comments by President Donald Trump encouraged hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks while British Prime Minister Theresa May’s resignation briefly sent sterling fluctuating wildly. Persisting concerns over the health of the world economy linked to trade tensions have hit global markets this week, with the MSCI All Country index in line for a more than 1% fall in its third week in the red. That will mark its longest losing streak since a rout in December. The index ...

How concerned are financial markets about the renewed escalation of the trade war? A cursory glance at some of the key gauges of market performance suggests that US President Donald Trump’s impulsive decision on May 6 to threaten to raise tariffs on all Chinese imports to 25 per cent, followed by the White House’s two-pronged attack on China’s Huawei Technologies – curbing its access to America’s market and placing the firm on a banned entity list – has rattled investors. Since May 3, the MSCI Emerging Markets equity index has ...

World stocks edged higher on Friday and oil prices recovered from bruising falls, after U.S. President Donald Trump nurtured muted hopes of progress in U.S.-China talks while concerns over trade and the health of the world economy persisted. Trade tensions have roiled global markets this week with the MSCI All Country index up 0.2% on the day but in line for a more than 1% fall in its third week in the red, their longest losing streak since a rout in December. In overnight comments, Trump also labelled Chinese telecommunications ...

Stocks on Wall Street were set to slide Thursday and 10-year U.S. government bond yields reached a 52-week low as disappointing economic data and worries over a protracted U.S.-China trade dispute added to a gloomy outlook for global growth. Futures pointed to declines of 1% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 and 1.5% for the Nasdaq-100. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 1.3% by midday, with all sectors of the pan-continental index falling into the red. Losses were heaviest for automotive and technology stocks which bear ...

World shares made it four days in the red in the last five on Thursday as concerns grew that the China-U.S. trade conflict was fast turning into a technology cold war between the world’s two largest economies. Asian stocks caved to a four-month low as the rhetoric between Beijing and Washington remained fierce while Europe’s bourses also fell as Brexit worries and gloomy data from Germany and the euro zone added to the nerves. U.S. stock futures also pointed to a weak start with the S&P 500 e-minis faltering 0.5%. ...

Global stocks were slightly lower on Wednesday as investors sought safety in bonds, the Japanese yen and Swiss franc in muted trade amid renewed worries over the U.S.-China spat after reports Washington has another Chinese tech firm in its sights. Relief over Washington’s temporary relaxation of curbs against China’s Huawei Technologies evaporated after reports that the White House is considering further sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision. Fears of another blacklisting reinforced worries that U.S. President Donald Trump is looking beyond sealing a trade deal with China to a ...

Global stocks paused on Wednesday after disappointing sales data from U.S. retailers on Tuesday and as trade tensions between the U.S. and China continued to overhang market activity. The Stoxx Europe 600 was nearly unchanged in early trade, with the U.K’s FTSE 100 up 0.4% and Germany’s DAX flat at the open. Asian indexes were mixed, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng and Korea’s Kospi both trading 0.2% higher while China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.6%. London-listed retailer Marks & Spencer Group was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100, ...

Companies around the world paid out a record amount of dividends in the first quarter, data showed on Monday, as they shrugged off worries about slowing economic and earnings growth. Global dividends rose 7.8% in the first quarter to $263.3 billion(206.90 billion pounds), matching last year’s growth and pushing the Janus Henderson global dividend index to an all-time high, according to a report by the asset manager on Monday. The data shows the growing optimism of companies and helps explain equities’ continued appeal in the face of global trade tensions ...

Europe markets bounced after Monday’s selloff but for the most part, they didn’t erase the day’s losses. How did markets perform? The Stoxx 600 moved up 0.4% to 378.9, retracing some of Monday’s 1.1% loss. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is higher at 7,767.2, rising 0.8% to more than wipe out Monday’s 0.5% decline. The pound was hit harder, shrinking 0.3% to $1.2685, a four-month low. Italy’s FTSE MIB recaptured part of its 2.7% plunge Monday, increasing 0.7% to 20,680.7 on Tuesday. In Germany, the DAX (DAX) edged up 0.2% to ...

Stocks markets gained on Tuesday, with chipmakers and stocks exposed to Asia among the best performers, after Washington temporarily eased trade restrictions imposed last week on China’s Huawei. In Europe, the broader Euro STOXX 600 edged up 0.3%, with Germany’s DAX rising 0.6%, while France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.2%. At the close, China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 1.23%, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended 1.35% higher. U.S. President Donald Trump’s government added Huawei to a trade blacklist last week, escalating trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. Washington ...

Shares of smaller publicly listed U.S. companies have fallen more on recent U.S.-China trade tensions than larger corporations and could face an even rougher road as the year wears on unless the prospects for economic growth improve. Wall Street has been forecasting a return to growth for the S&P 600 index of small cap stocks in the second half of 2019, but an intensifying trade battle between the world’s two biggest economies puts these hopes into doubt. Because they depend less on overseas sales than bigger companies, some investors say ...

Stock markets weakened on Monday as concerns mounted about an escalating fallout from a U.S. crackdown on China’s Huawei Technologies. Investors already on edge about an escalating U.S.-China trade dispute were further rattled after Beijing accused Washington of harbouring “extravagant expectations” for a trade deal, underlining the gulf between the two sides. Asian shares had managed to reverse some of last week’s losses on Monday after Washington said it would lift tariffs in North America, and as investors cheered apparent wins by Conservative incumbent parties in elections in Australia and ...

Global stocks opened mostly lower on Monday, as investors continued to weigh the impact of souring U.S.-China trade negotiations. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.2% in morning trading. In Asia, the Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.2%. Futures pointed to opening gains on Wall Street of 0.2% for both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. Tensions between the U.S. and China have heated up over the past week amid tit-for-tat tariff increases from ...

Trade war fears have prompted investors to pull the most money out of Chinese equities this week since 2015 and the second most since 2010, global capital tracker the Institute of International Finance estimated. The IIF said: “This week, we see the largest weekly equity outflows in China since 2015 ($2.76 billion). Last week totalled $2.56 billion in outflows, placing the total for the past two weeks at $5.32 billion.” It added that the last two weeks had seen $13.65 billion pulled from emerging markets stocks overall. Source: Reuters (Reporting ...