Global shares are mostly higher after US stocks rise to the brink of a record

Chicago Tribune

4 hours ago

MANILA, Philippines — Global shares were mostly higher on Friday as the week was winding down with the Israel-Iran ceasefire still in place and signs of progress on a China-U.S. trade deal.
Investors were watching for further details after President Donald Trump said the U.S. and China had signed a trade deal. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview on Bloomberg TV that the deal was signed two days ago, but did not elaborate, saying 'The president likes to close these deals himself.'
China's Commerce Ministry said Friday that the two sides had 'further confirmed the details of the framework' for their trade talks. But its statement did not explicit mention an agreement to ensure U.S. access to rare earths, materials used in high-tech applications that have been at the center of negotiations.
'China will approve the export applications of controlled items that meet the conditions in accordance with the law. The United States will cancel a series of restrictive measures taken against China accordingly. It is hoped that the United States and China will meet each other halfway,' the ministry said in a statement. In early European trading, Germany's DAX added 0.8% to 23,847.16. In Paris, the CAC 40 surged 1.3% to 7,656.55. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5% to 8,779.78.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%.
Markets have settled somewhat after the upheavals of the Israel-Iran war and its aftermath.
Worries about Trump's higher tariffs have receded since the president shocked the world in April with stiff proposed levies, but they have not disappeared. The wait is still on to see how big the tariffs will ultimately be, how much they will hurt the economy and how much they will push up inflation.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.2% to 24,284.15, while the Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.7% to 3,424.23 after China reported that industrial profits slid 9.1% in May, the sharpest drop since last October.
'Beijing may have paused the worst of the trade fight with Washington, but the tariff scars are showing—and unless demand picks up or pricing stabilizes, the pressure on margins and business sentiment will linger,' Stephen Innes, Managing Partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a commentary.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.4% to 40,150.79, as the government reported that consumer prices eased slightly in May.
South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index fell 0.8% to 3,055.94, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4% at 8,514.20.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and at 6,141.02 was sitting just 0.05% below its all-time closing high set in February. The index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts had dropped roughly 20% below its record during the spring on worries about Trump's tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 0.9% and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%.
Reports on Thursday added to evidence the U.S. economy is holding up despite higher tariffs and other challenges, though it has slowed. Orders for washing machines and other manufactured goods that last at least three years grew by more last month than economists expected. Another report said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, a potential signal of fewer layoffs.
A third report said the U.S. economy shrank by more during the first three months of 2025 than earlier estimated. But many economists say those numbers were distorted by a surge in imports as companies tried to get ahead of tariffs. They're expecting a better performance in upcoming months.
In other dealings on Friday, the U.S. benchmark crude gained 46 cents to $65.70 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 41 cents to $67.10 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 144.37 Japanese yen from 144.40 yen. The euro edged higher to $1.1710 from $1.1703.