World shares bounce back from Wall Street's tech sell-off
SINGAPORE (AP) - World markets were mostly higher on Wednesday after two days of broad losses by big technology companies, which dragged U.S. indexes into the red for the year.
KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany's DAX index jumped 1 percent to 11,171.17 and France's CAC 40 added 0.6 percent to 4,954.32. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.7 percent at 6,996.56. Futures for the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index were 0.7 percent higher at 2,659.00 and those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent to 24,584.00.
ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent to 21,507.54. The Kospi in South Korea was down 0.3 percent at 2,076.55. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.5 percent to 25,971.47 and the Shanghai Composite edged 0.2 percent higher to 2,651.51. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5 percent to 5,642.80. Shares fell in Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines but rose in Singapore and Thailand.
U.S.-CHINA TENSIONS: A 21-nation summit in Papua New Guinea, which ended without a final communique, has put a trade dispute between the U.S. and China in the spotlight. Draft versions of the communique showed that the U.S. wanted strong language against what it says are unfair Chinese trade practices, while China wanted clear opposition to protectionism and unilateralism. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet at Group of 20 summit later this month, but it is unclear if the talks will spur a reduction in tensions. New national security regulations proposed by the Trump administration, which could limit exports of high-tech products in fields like quantum computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence have weighed heavily on the technology sector.
EUROPE WATCH: Traders are waiting to see if the European Union will kick off a deficit procedure against Italy for its draft budget. They are also watching a meeting between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and British Prime Minister Theresa May, which will hint at the future relationship between the bloc and Britain.
ENERGY: Oil prices rebounded Wednesday after plunging on worries of rising supplies and softening global growth. Benchmark U.S. crude added $1.06 to $54.49. The contract dropped $3.77 to close at $53.43 in New York, its lowest price in more than a year. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 81 cents to $63.34. It fell $4.26 to $62.53 in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 112.88 yen from 112.76 yen late Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1404 from $1.1367.