Global stock markets were mixed Friday as investors remained cautious about U.S. plans to raise tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. Uncertainty over White House politics also cast a shadow.
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KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 7,152.73 and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.1 percent to 5,272.39. Germany’s DAX rose 0.4 percent to 12,397.69. Futures augured a lukewarm start on Wall Street. S&P futures added 0.1 percent while Dow futures held steady.
ANALYST’S TAKE: “Caution lingers amid risk factors from heightened trade tensions between U.S. and China, U.S. politics and geopolitical tensions in Europe,” Mizuho Bank said in a daily commentary.
U.S. POLITICS: The Trump Organization said the company has fully cooperated with Robert Mueller’s investigation in response to the report that it received a subpoena from Mueller that included a request for documents related to Russia.
U.S. TRADE: Trade remained in the spotlight after President Trump said CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow is replacing Gary Cohn as his top economic adviser after Cohn disagreed with Trump’s decision to hike tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trade issues will likely top the agenda at a financial meeting of the Group of 20 industrial nations in Buenos Aires on Monday to Tuesday.
ASIA’S DAY: Asian markets finished mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent to 21,676.51, while South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.1 percent higher to 2,493.97. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.1 percent to 31,501.97. China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 percent to 3,269.88. But Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 percent to 5,949.40. Stocks in Taiwan and Southeast Asia were mostly lower.
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OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 14 cents to $61.33 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 23 cents to $61.19 a barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 17 cents to $65.29 per barrel in London. It rose 23 cents to $65.12 per barrel on Thursday.
CURRENCIES: The dollar dipped to 105.68 Japanese yen from 106.33 yen. The euro rose to $1.2331 from $1.2305.
