TOKYO — Global shares were mostly up Tuesday after U.S. stocks closed broadly higher with gains in Big Tech companies offsetting a skid in oil and gas stocks.
France’s CAC 40 gained 0.3% in early trading to 7,580.12, while Germany’s DAX rose nearly 0.3% to 19,586.90. Britain’s FTSE 100 was also up 0.3% to 8,308.83. U.S. shares were set to be little changed, with Dow futures down less than 0.1% at 42,576.00. S&P 500 futures inched up less than 0.1% at 5,864.00.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8% to finish at 38,903.68. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 8,249.20. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2% to 2,617.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.5% to 20,701.14, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 1.1% to 3,286.41.
In Japan, the government reported that unemployment stood at 2.4% last month, marking an improvement of 0.1 percentage point, and the second straight month of recovery. The continuing weak yen is helping hold up Japanese stocks. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar gained to 153.32 Japanese yen from 153.23 yen. The euro cost $1.0820, inching up from $1.0817.
Recently, stocks in the oil-and-gas industry have been hurt by the sinking price of oil. In energy trading in Asia Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude rose 15 cents to $67.53 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 18 cents to $71.60 a barrel.
On Monday, a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell 6.1%, and Brent crude slid 6.1%. That was the first trading for them since Israel attacked Iranian military targets on Saturday, in retaliation for an earlier barrage of ballistic missiles. Israel’s attack was more restrained than some investors had feared it could be, and it raised hopes that a worst-case scenario may be avoided.
Beyond the violence that is taking a human toll, the worry in financial markets is that an escalating war in the Middle East could cut off the flow of crude from Iran, which is a major oil producer.
Such worries had sent the price of Brent crude up to nearly $81 per barrel in early October, despite signals that plenty of oil is available for the global economy. It’s since fallen back below $72.
Financial markets are also dealing with the volatility that typically surrounds a U.S. presidential election, with Election Day one week away. Markets have historically been shaky heading into an election, only to calm afterward regardless of which party wins.
Investors are eyeing the U.S. jobs report set for release Friday. They want to see more evidence of solid hiring to keep alive hopes for the economy.
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Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama
