World shares are mostly higher after modest gains put Wall St close to records
WASHINGTON, June 3, (AP): Shares were mostly higher Tuesday in Asia after US stock indexes drifted closer to records, while oil prices extended gains. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%. Markets in China advanced despite a report showing manufacturing activity slowed in May, even after China and the US paused tariff hikes to allow time for talks. In early European trading, Germany's DAX climbed 0.3% to 23,996.47, while the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.2% higher to 7,747.72.
Britain's FTSE 100 was up less than 0.1% at 8,779.65. Adding to uncertainty in a region already enduring war in Ukraine, Poland elected Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian and staunch nationalist, as its next president in a closely watched vote that signaled a resurgence of right-wing populism in the heart of Europe.
Nawrocki has voiced support for Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression, but does not back Ukrainian membership in NATO and has questioned the long-term costs of aid - particularly support for refugees. The survey of Chinese purchasing managers, or PMI, by the financial media group Caixin showed factory output, new export orders, purchasing activity and staffing all declined last month.
Incoming new work contracted at the quickest pace in over two-and-a-half years. the report said. The situation is "a body blow to the backbone of China's economy: small and mid-sized exporters now caught in a brutal vice grip between faltering global demand and a Washington-led tariff regime that's more carrot-and-stick diplomacy than ceasefire,' Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. However, as is often the case, investors shrugged off the bad news with the assumption that it might raise the likelihood of more market support from Beijing.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.5% to 23,501.55, while the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.4% to 3,361.98. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% lower to 37,446.81. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.6% to 8,466.70. In Taiwan, the Taiex gained 0.6%, while India's Sensex lost 0.5%. Beijing and Washington dialed back trade friction slightly as the US extended exemptions for tariffs on some Chinese goods, including solar manufacturing equipment, that US industries rely on for their own production.
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