World stocks mixed as NKorea's restraint eases concerns
World stock markets were mixed Friday as investors eyed the diplomatic rhetoric over North Korea, developments in global trade disputes and prepared for a long weekend in the U.S. and Britain.
KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX rose 0.8 percent to 12,961 and France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent to 5,568. Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.1 percent to 7,725. Wall Street was poised to open slightly lower — Dow futures shed 0.1 percent and S&P 500 futures were down 0.2 percent. Markets will be closed on Monday in the U.S. and Britain.
ASIAN SCORECARD: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.1 percent to close at 22,450.79 but South Korea's Kospi lost 0.2 percent to 2,460.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.6 percent to 30,588.04 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China slipped 0.4 percent to 3,141.30. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.1 percent to 6,032.80.
SUMMIT SCRUBBED: Trump cancelled a June meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, blaming it on "tremendous anger and open hostility" that was expressed in a statement by a North Korean official. Trump later said the meeting could still happen. North Korea said it's still willing to sit down for talks with the U.S. "at any time, at any format," a remarkably restrained and diplomatic response that contrasts with Pyongyang's traditional belligerence.
QUOTEWORTHY: "The reality of the situation is starting to dawn on markets that this is political theater engineered for domestic consumption. The reality is it doesn't change the economic outlook at all," said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. He added that the more likely explanation is that investors are using it as an excuse to pull back after a strong run in the markets.
CHINA-US TRADE: U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is due to arrive in Beijing on Saturday for more talks on the dispute between China and the U.S. over trade and technology policy. China's official Xinhua News Agency said the two sides will "continue negotiations on Chinese-U.S. economic and trade issues" until Monday. Last week China promised to buy more U.S. goods but the two sides made scant progress on a final settlement.
WEEK AHEAD: Investors are anticipating the latest batch of economic data for the U.S. and China due out next week, including a private payroll report and GDP numbers for the U.S. on Wednesday and China's official monthly manufacturing index for Thursday. The numbers will give fresh insight into the state of the world's two largest economies.
ENERGY: Oil futures extended losses. Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.59 to $69.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 1.6 percent to settle at $70.71 per barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $1.71 to $77.08 in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 109.36 yen from 109.25 yen in late trading Thursday. The euro rose to $1.1668 from $1.1720.