Business

Global stocks rise as investors weigh future of US rates

Posted August 30, 2016 7:00 am

By YURI KAGEYAMA

A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as hopes continued for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this year. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Global stock markets mostly rose on Tuesday as investors weighed the possibility and timing of another U.S. interest rate increase this year.

KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 added 0.7 percent to 4,455 and Germany's DAX rose 0.9 percent to 10,640. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1 percent to 6,840. U.S. shares were set for a quiet open, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both unchanged.

FED FACTOR: Major U.S. banks posted solid gains on Wall Street as traders bet that the Fed was likely to nudge interest rates higher in December or even at its next policy meeting in September. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told a conference last week that the case for raising rates was strengthening given improvements in the economy. While rate increases can hurt stock markets overall, they tend to support bank shares. Also, some investors seem encouraged by the prospect that the Fed considers the economy strong enough to withstand another rate increase.

THE QUOTE: "The Federal Reserve's rate-hike decision is largely based on three main indicators: the performance of the labor market, economic activity and inflation. In light of strong jobs reports over the last two months, the likelihood of an impending rate hike has substantially increased," said Margaret Yang Yan, market analyst at CMC Markets Singapore.

JOBS DATA: Global markets are awaiting the U.S. Labor Department monthly jobs data, being released Friday, for signs on whether a U.S. recovery is on solid footing. Data on Japan released Tuesday showed an improvement in unemployment, but worries about growth momentum remain.

APPLE: Shares in tech company Apple Inc. were down 1.4 percent in premarket trading after the European Union ruled that it has to pay $14.5 billion in back taxes to Ireland. Both Apple and Ireland said they would appeal the decision, which is the EU's latest and most aggressive move in its campaign to have multinationals pay a fair tax rate.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was down less than 0.1 percent, to close at 16,725.36. South Korea's Kospi added 0.4 percent to 2,039.74. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9 percent to 23,028.02, while the Shanghai Composite inched up 0.2 percent to 3,074.68.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 37 cents to $47.35. It had fallen 66 cents on Monday. Brent crude, used to price oil internationally, rose 28 cents to $49.54 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose 102.32 yen from 102.21 yen late Monday. The euro was slightly lower at $1.1164 from $1.1177.

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Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama

A man walks past an electronic stock board showing index of Japan's Nikkei 225, left, and New York Dow at a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as hopes continued for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this year. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press

A man looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as hopes continued for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this year. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press

A woman walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as hopes continued for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this year. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) The Associated Press

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