Tokyo, Oct 20 (AP) Global shares were mostly lower in cautious trading Tuesday after artificial-intelligence-related stocks bounced back on Wall Street while other sectors continued to be shaky and oil prices stayed high.
France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.4 per cent in early trading to 7,836.70, while the German DAX shed 0.7 per cent to 25,134.29. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.6 per cent to 10,703.98.
US shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.3 per cent at 52,332.00. S&P 500 futures gained less than 0.1 per cent to 7,735.25.
In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.3 per cent to finish 64,075.42. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 per cent to 8,816.90. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.7 per cent to 5,552.74, as the frenzy over AI-related issues resulted in a decline. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3 per cent to 23,867.74, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1 per cent to 3,735.37.
Analysts say investors are also waiting for the upcoming slew of earnings reports from various major companies.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude jumped 2.13 per cent to USD 105.87 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 1.10 per cent to USD 110.75 a barrel. Uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the energy industry to return to normal means oil prices are unlikely to ease any time soon.
In currency trading, the US dollar inched down to 158.16 Japanese yen from 158.46 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1235, up from USD 1.1227.
(PTI News)
