Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said calls to oust Chinese companies from American stock indexes was contrary to the foundations of capitalism, as he warned against the dangers of decoupling the world’s two largest economies. Paulson, who’s now chairman of the Paulson Institute, told Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Beijing that moves to reduce ties between the U.S. and China would weaken American leadership and New York’s leading role in finance. He said less cooperation between Washington and Beijing would also make it more difficult to tackle another financial ...

Global stocks wavered Thursday as investors assessed conflicting signals on the prospects for the U.S.-China trade talks. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average swung between tepid gains and losses, a day after the gauge of U.S. blue-chip stocks logged its biggest fall of the month. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the day down 1.6%, while the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index retreated 0.5%, led by losses in sectors most exposed to the global economic impact of worsening trade tensions. China’s chief trade negotiator late last week ...

Global stocks slid further on Thursday as the standoff between the world’s two largest economies extended beyond trade, reducing the odds of a “phase-one” deal this year and forcing investors to seek shelter in safe-haven assets. The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two bills intended to support protesters in Hong Kong and send a warning to China about human rights. With U.S. President Donald Trump seen likely to sign the bill, Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said this “could risk progress towards a phase one trade deal”. European ...

Sovereign wealth funds regained their appetite for equities in the third quarter, piling into passively managed stocks in the United States and equities in mainland China and elsewhere, according to eVestment data. Passively managed S&P 500 funds — those that buy a basket of S&P 500 stocks and hold them rather than trading day to day — took in $1.09 billion (£844 million) from sovereign investors during the period, the first net inflow since the fourth quarter of 2016, after significant outflows in recent years. In another sign of renewed ...

Global stocks retreated Wednesday as trade talks between the U.S. and China appeared to near an impasse, with President Trump threatening to raise tariffs further. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average receded 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended the day down 0.8%. Investors are growing concerned that relations between the world’s two biggest economies may be further strained after the U.S. Senate passed a bill in support of Hong Kong’s antigovernment protesters. The bill would require the U.S. Secretary of State to certify annually that Hong Kong ...

A raft of major banks and fund managers have upgraded their view on global equities, with emerging-market stocks their top pick to benefit from signs of easing in the Sino-U.S. trade dispute. Fund manager J.P. Morgan Asset Management raised its outlook on global stocks, pointing to hopes for a breakthrough in the U.S.-China trade discussions, a reduced risk of a U.S. recession and a moderately positive earnings outlook. The call, from the manager of $1.8 trillion (£1.4 trillion) in assets, comes as U.S. stock markets sit at a record high ...

World stocks were knocked off 22-month highs on Wednesday as a renewed flare-up in Sino-U.S. tensions and the creeping return of U.S. recession fears fueled a bid for bonds and other “safe” assets such as gold. European equities tumbled half a percent at the open, edging further off recent four-year highs hit when it had appeared Washington and Beijing were about to agree the first phase of a trade deal. Wall Street futures were marked lower while oil prices suffered their biggest daily loss in seven weeks. The mood in ...

Specialised fund managers who pioneered green investing for decades are missing out on some of the spoils as the sector goes mainstream and large firms move in. So-called sustainable funds, which pick stocks based on environmental, social or governance (ESG) criteria, are on track to take in more than $16 billion in net new deposits this year, triple last year’s record of $5.5 billion, according to fund tracker Morningstar Inc. But the new money has largely gone to top asset managers like BlackRock Inc and Vanguard Group, which were late ...

Global stocks edged higher Tuesday as investors grew less apprehensive about the global economic outlook and the prospects for a U.S.-China trade deal in the absence of fresh shocks. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average index ticked up 0.2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended the day up almost 1.6%. The Shanghai Composite gauge advanced 0.9%. U.S. stocks have had a relatively muted start to the week — even as the key equity benchmarks closed at fresh records Monday — as recent economic data and companies’ earnings ...

Morgan Stanley predicted that American equities and corporate bonds will underperform peers next year, while the dollar weakens as growth outside the U.S. picks up. “We see the biggest potential upside in markets with a clearer path to achievable earnings growth (Japan and EM) or scope for some multiple re-rating on falling political risks (Europe),” strategists including Andrew Sheets, Michael Wilson and Matthew Hornbach wrote in a yearly outlook dated Nov. 17, with regard to stocks. The Wall Street bank sees a modest decline in the S&P 500 Index by ...

Growth-dependent cyclical stocks drove European shares to a four-year high on Tuesday as a temporary reprieve for China’s Huawei from U.S. sanctions encouraged bets that the world’s largest economies could reach a trade truce. After a hesitant start, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% to its highest level since July 2015, with cyclical sectors rallying. The index is now flirting with record highs hit in April 2015. Automakers rebounded from their worst session in six weeks as data showed passenger car registrations in Europe rose to their highest since ...

A battle for the Madrid stock exchange erupted as Switzerland’s SIX Group AG announced a 2.8 billion-euro ($3.1 billion) takeover bid, minutes after Euronext NV confirmed its own interest. SIX, which is owned by a group of Swiss banks, said Monday that its proposal for Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles SA would create the third-largest European operator of financial market infrastructure. Its all-cash offer — a third higher than BME’s closing price last week — won a positive nod from the target’s management. That puts the ball in Euronext’s court. The ...

World shares were close to a record high on Monday, after Beijing surprised markets by trimming a key interest rate for the first time since 2015. In the latest show of support for its economy, China’s central bank cut rates on seven-day reverse repurchase agreements by five basis points to 2.50%. The news helped Asia’s main markets close higher and Europe followed suit, though 0.1% to 0.3% moves showed the initial reaction was cautious. It did nudge MSCI’s 49-country world share index 0.12% higher to leave it less than 1% ...

With little more than six weeks to the end of 2019, the signs are that the worst days of the year for emerging markets are in the past. But don’t bet on any major rally either. Expected volatility is close to its lowest levels since 2014, stocks are failing to take their cue from bullish signals and a trio of central banks are poised to back away from stimulus-inducing rate cuts this week. That leaves markets largely hostage to the ups and downs of the trade talks, with the latest ...

Global stock markets mostly moved higher Friday with investors closing out the week on a calm note following positive signals about U.S.-China trade talks. U.S. stock futures ticked higher after White House economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow talked about progress in trade talks with China and optimism over the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo finished the day 0.7% higher, although it was marginally down for the week, while in Europe the Stoxx 600 was up 0.1% in early trade. U.S. stock futures tied to ...