Stocks edged higher on Monday after a survey showed German business morale rebounded in May, boosting optimism around economic re-openings, although caution prompted the dollar to snap a rare losing streak. MSCI’s gauge of world stocks gained 0.32%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.8%. Lockdown measures introduced in mid-March have put the global economy on track for a recession this year. Only unprecedented stimulus by global central banks held up world markets in recent weeks. With nervous investors wary of adding to their equity holdings over concerns on what ...

Stocks rose slightly in Europe and most of Asia but edged lower in Hong Kong as a selloff continued Monday, with markets in the U.S. and U.K. closed for holidays. Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.4%. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.5%. Hong Kong shares extended the previous session’s steep selloff, while optimism over economic reopening boosted other regional markets. The city’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.1% in afternoon trading, paring larger earlier losses. Indexes in Japan and Australia led regional gains on Monday, with increases of ...

Global stocks declined as China moved to impose new national-security laws on Hong Kong, a measure that would increase tensions with the U.S. and challenge the financial hub’s autonomy. Hong Kong shares plunged, leading regional declines. The Hang Seng Index lost 5.5%, with property, financial and infrastructure stocks retreating between 5% and 9%. The decline put it on course for its worst day since July 2015, Refinitiv Datastream data showed. Its biggest drop during the market turmoil earlier this year came on March 23, when it fell 4.9%. U.S. stock ...

International stocks drifted lower, with few major coronavirus developments to drive trading. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, suggesting U.S. markets could retreat Thursday. European stocks also declined, with the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.9%, led by losses in France and Germany. Major stock indexes in Asia fell, with the Hang Seng Index, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and China’s Shanghai Composite falling between 0.2% and 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi Composite bucked the trend, adding 0.4%. Christopher Smart, chief global strategist at Barings, said stocks had recovered ...

European stocks slipped lower on Wednesday and gold gained as a sceptical press report undermined some hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine and concern about obstacles to a recovery from the pandemic returned. Italian bonds sustained their multi-week lows, continuing to gain from a Franco-German plan for a 500 billion-euro coronavirus recovery fund, ignoring a hawkish counter-proposal in the works. Europe’s STOXX 600 index was 1.6% lower. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.4% as Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc shed 0.8% after it said it would cut 9,000 jobs and might close ...

U.S. stock futures drifted between small losses and gains Tuesday, following the biggest rally in blue-chip shares in over a month. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1%, suggesting the benchmark U.S. index may hold on to gains sparked by signs of progress toward making a vaccine for the coronavirus. The Dow jumped 3.9% Monday in its biggest advance since April 6. The Stoxx Europe 600 ticked down 1.1%. “Investors are just pausing for a breather after yesterday’s excitement about the potential development of a vaccine,” ...

International markets rose after U.S. stocks surged on hopes that a new vaccine could help combat the coronavirus pandemic. Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, suggesting the benchmark U.S. index will extend its advance. The Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.3%, led by gains in banking shares. Stocks also rallied in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index were up 1.5% and 2.1%, respectively. South Korea’s Kospi Composite added 2.3%. Major U.S. stock indexes rallied between 2.4% and 3.9% Monday after drugmaker Moderna said the ...

Asian shares were hauled higher by S&P 500 futures on Monday and oil prices hit a five-week peak as countries’ efforts to re-open their economies stirred hopes the world was nearer to emerging from recession. Warm weather is enticing much of the world to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns as centres of the outbreak from New York to Italy and Spain gradually lift restrictions that have kept millions cooped up for months. “The economies of Europe and the U.S. likely bottomed out in April and are slowly starting to come back ...

World stocks rose on Friday and oil prices jumped more than 3%, taking the sting out of a week that has seen sentiment hit as deteriorating U.S.-China relations added to worries over how fast economies could recover from the coronavirus shock. Oil prices rose to their highest levels in more than a month on signs that demand from China is picking up. European shares opened broadly higher, with stock markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt tracking overnight gains in U.S. and Asian markets. U.S. stock market futures pointed to a ...

U.S. stock futures wobbled Thursday ahead of weekly jobless claims data as anxiety about the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic prompted a rise in volatility. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered between gains and losses, suggesting that the U.S. blue-chips index could come under fresh pressure after dropping 2.2% Wednesday. A closely watched gauge for turbulence in U.S. stocks, the Cboe Volatility Index, ticked higher for a third day. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.7%, while major Asian indexes ended the day sharply lower. Investors ...

World stock markets fell for a third day running on Thursday after a sobering warning from the World Health Organization that the coronavirus may never go away. The head of the Federal Reserve quashed talk of U.S. interest rates going negative to kickstart investment and new outbreaks of the virus in South Korea and China and some dour assessments of the global economy aroused concern too. Europe’s main bourses sank 1.5% in early moves as traders once again took shelter in safe-haven government bonds. “The path ahead is both highly ...

Global stocks and oil prices fell on Wednesday as fears about a second wave of coronavirus infections gripped financial markets. Investors, many facing steep losses due to the pandemic-driven shakeout in assets over the past few months, have also had to contend with renewed U.S.-China trade tensions. MSCI’s index of global shares was down 0.3%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 1.6%. Banks acted as the drag after a number of negative updates. Shares in Deutsche Bank fell 4.4% after it was reported that top managers will waive one month ...

Global stocks wavered Tuesday as investors’ optimism waned with the resurgence of coronavirus infections in some countries and signs that the economic recovery may be complicated. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.2%, after the blue-chips gauge dropped 0.4% on Monday. That suggests the rally of recent weeks, driven by technology companies and a fear of missing out on the economic recovery, may be petering out. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.4%. Investors are assessing a variety of risks, including new infections in places ...

European shares edged higher on Tuesday, led by defensive stocks and a clutch of upbeat earnings reports as investors worried about the risk of resurgence in new coronavirus cases due to the lifting of lockdowns by some countries. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2%, with gains led by telecoms, healthcare and utilities – sectors that investors seek during times of economic uncertainty. Boosting UK’s FTSE 100, Vodafone’s shares jumped 5.9% after the world’s second-largest mobile operator met expectations with a 2.6% rise in full-year core earnings and maintained its ...

Stock markets fell on Monday after reports of a pick-up in new coronavirus cases rattled investors, who worried that it could slow or reverse the loosening of lockdown measures. Shares had initially gained, led by Asia, where markets cheered further loosening of coronavirus restrictions in the region – New Zealand will ease some curbs from Thursday, and Japan plans to end a state of emergency for areas where infections have stabilised. In Europe, millions in France are set to emerge cautiously from one of the region’s strictest lockdowns, while Britain ...