Hong Kong, Sep 23 (AP) Global shares were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street held near its record and oil prices stabilised following US President Donald Trump’s remarks that United States and Iranian officials had a “very good” meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
US futures were little changed ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, which is kicking off Wednesday, and his meeting this week with Trump.
In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent to 10,729.10. France’s CAC 40 edged up less than 0.1 per cent to 8,156.78, while Germany’s DAX declined 0.4 per cent to 25,490.42.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9 per cent to 7,080.92. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1 per cent to 24,834.12. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.4 per cent to 3,936.52. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 per cent to 8,765.30.
Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.8 per cent higher, while India’s Sensex was up 0.5 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed on Wednesday for a holiday and will resume trading Thursday.
Oil prices stabilised and remained below USD 100 a barrel after Trump said US and Iranian officials met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York following his threat during an address to the annual gathering that the US might “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal couldn’t be made.
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world,” Trump said. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
Brent crude, the international standard, edged up less than 0.1 per cent to USD 99.30 per barrel after falling earlier in the day. That was still elevated compared to the roughly USD 72 per barrel level from late February before the Iran war.
Diplomatic progress between the US and Iran helped fuel the fall in oil prices Wednesday, ING commodities strategists Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson wrote in a commentary. They said oil prices eased also on optimism over reports that Saudi Arabia was restarting operations at a key oil pipeline.
Several major technology stocks in Asia traded higher Wednesday after US technology shares gained. Samsung Electronics rose 3.3 per cent, while South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix added 1.2 per cent. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, were up 1.6 per cent.
Investors have been monitoring the debate in the US over whether to slow down artificial intelligence development, while AI is also expected to be high on the agenda when Trump and Xi meet.
On Tuesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 edged down less than 0.1 per cent and remained near its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4 per cent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5 per cent and closed at a record high.
Major US technology stocks climbed. Nvidia shares climbed 0.7 per cent, while Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, rose 1.3 per cent. Broadcom added 0.5 per cent, and Intel gained 1.7 per cent.
In other dealings, the US dollar rose to 157.91 Japanese yen from 157.39 yen. The euro was trading at USD 1.1410, down from USD 1.1449.
(PTI News)
