Global markets mixed after Wall Street's gains
BEIJING - Asian stock markets mostly rose while Europe declined on Monday following Wall Street's gains amid expectations global central banks will hold off raising interest rates.
In early trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.9 percent to 11,934.99 points and France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent to 5,067.13. On Friday, the DAX added 1.1 percent and the CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent. Wall Street looked set for a lower open Monday, with both Dow and broader S&P futures down 0.1 percent. On Friday, the Dow and S&P both rose 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.7 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2 percent to 3,687.73 points and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1 percent to 19,754.36. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent to 25,494.51. Benchmarks in Taipei, New Zealand and Singapore rose. Seoul's Kospi was unchanged at 2,036.59. India's Sensex shed 0.2 percent to 28,209.71, and Sydney and Bangkok also declined.
U.S. stocks turned in a strong week, boosted by a rebound in oil prices and earnings from Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants and sportswear giant Nike. That came after the Federal Reserve implied at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday that it was in no hurry to hike rates with U.S. economic growth and inflation low.
"On current statements, no central bank in the developed world is going to raise rates before June. In fact, the market believes no central bank will lift rates before September," Evan Lucas of IG Markets said in a report. The market believes major central banks "could lower rates in the next two months, further driving funds into corporate and sovereign yield plays," he said.
Benchmark U.S. crude shed 97 cents to $45.59 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract soared $1.04 on Friday to close at $46.57. Brent crude, used to price international oils, declined 94 cents to $54.37 per barrel in London. On Friday, the contract rose 89 cents to $55.32.
The dollar gained to 120.08 yen from Friday's 120.03 yen. The euro held steady at $1.07.