TOKYO — Global shares traded mostly higher Tuesday after Wall Street set new records and investor anticipation grew that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce the first cut of the year to its main interest rate.
France’s CAC 40 edged up nearly 0.1% to 7,891.76 in early trading, while the German DAX fell 0.2% to 23,690.86. Britain’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.1% to 9,267.31. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures inching up less than 0.1% to 46,277.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% to 6,694.00.
In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 came off a holiday to momentarily reach above 45,000 points a few times during the session, finishing at a record 44,902.27, up 0.3% from the previous close and the fourth straight session of record closes.
The rally comes despite ongoing political uncertainty in Japan after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he is stepping down. An election within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to pick a new leader is expected Oct. 4. Candidates include Shinjiro Koizumi, the farm minister and son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Another is Sanae Takaichi, who could become Japan’s first woman prime minister.
It’s not clear if the chosen ruling party chief can become the nation’s leader, as the party does not have a majority in Parliament and must forge a coalition with smaller parties.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3% to 8,877.70. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.2% to 3,449.62.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reversed earlier declines, rising moderately before falling again to finish little changed at 26,438.51. The Shanghai Composite inched up less than 0.1% to 3,861.86. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after weekend trade talks in Spain that a framework deal had been reached between China and the U.S. over the ownership of popular social video platform TikTok.
Bessent said after the latest round of trade talks between the world’s two largest economies concluded in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would speak Friday to possibly finalize the deal. He did not disclose the terms of the agreement.
The market’s main event for the week will arrive on Wednesday. That’s when the Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on interest rates. A rate cut could give a kickstart to the job market, which has been slowing. But markets are in for a disappointment if the cut doesn’t come.
The next economic update will arrive Tuesday, when the U.S. government will say how much shoppers spent at U.S. retailers last month.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 18 cents to $63.12 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 19 cents to $67.25 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged down to 147.08 Japanese yen from 147.33 yen. The euro cost $1.1797, up from $1.1769.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
