TOKYO (AP) - Global shares were mixed Tuesday after rallying a day earlier on the U.S. decision to give Chinese telecom giant Huawei another 90 days to buy equipment from American suppliers.
Markets around the world have been swinging back and forth for months on incremental developments in the U.S.-China trade war, with investors eager for any signs of progress.
After last week’s turbulence, Wall Street put together a three-day rally, but that could be coming to a close, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both flat.
France’s CAC 40 was flat in midday trading at 5,372, while Germany’s DAX declined 0.1% to 11,705. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 7,216.
Recently, investors have been trying to determine whether a recession is on the horizon in the U.S. A key concern is that the escalating and costly trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies will hamper growth around the globe.
Earlier this month, Trump announced plans to extend tariffs across virtually all Chinese imports, many of them consumer products that were exempt from earlier rounds of tariffs. Although the tariffs have been delayed, the founder of Chinese tech giant Huawei said Tuesday he expects no relief from U.S. export curbs due to the political climate in Washington. He expressed confidence the company will thrive because it develops its own technology.
Ren Zhengfei also said he doesn’t want relief from U.S. sanctions if it requires China to make concessions in a tariff war. He noted that the biggest impact will be on American vendors that sell chips and other components to Huawei, the biggest maker of network gear for phone companies.
Huawei has become a big part of the trade war, with the White House showing a willingness to use sanctions against the company as a bargaining chip. The U.S. government blacklisted Huawei in May, deeming it a national security risk, meaning U.S. companies aren’t allowed to sell the company technology without government approval.
“While it is not unexpected, the extension for the easing of Huawei sanctions had added to the relief for markets at the start of the week,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist for IG in Singapore.
Shares in Asia mostly rose, as Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% to finish at 20,677.22. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2% to 6,545.00. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.1% to 1,960.25, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2% to 26,231.54. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.1% at 2,880.00.
ENERGY:
Benchmark crude oil lost 24 cents to $55.97 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 25 cents to $59.49 a barrel.
CURRENCIES:
The dollar declined slightly to 106.35 yen from 106.36 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.1079 from $1.1104.
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