Global stocks rise on Trump policy hopes, EU growth

BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks rose Monday after President Donald Trump promised tax cuts for companies and appeared to steady relations with key Asian trading partners Japan and China. Upbeat economic forecasts from the European Union also helped buoy sentiment.

KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX gained 0.9 percent to 11,768 while France’s CAC-40 advanced 1 percent to 4,878. London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1 percent to 7,266. On Wall Street, the future for the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent and that for the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.2 percent.

TRUMP EFFECT: Investors pushed U.S. indexes to a record on Friday, encouraged by strong company earnings and optimism over the Trump administration’s promises of tax cuts and less government regulation. Trump also appeared to back away from promises to declare Beijing and Tokyo manipulate their currencies and said he had a “very warm” phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Trump said Washington would honor its “one China” policy, which had been in question since he spoke to the leader of Taiwan after his election. Trump also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and announced discussions of a possible bilateral trade deal.

ANALYST’S TAKE: The Trump-Abe meeting and Trump’s “One China” commitment “could allay some of the trade concerns in Asia and set free into the market more bullish bets,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a report. “While it remains to be hashed out, President Donald Trump’s mention of a ‘level playing field’ on currency valuation also appears to reflect an amicable turn after the U.S. president accused his visitors of currency manipulation.”

EU OPTIMISM: The EU’s latest estimates predict that economic growth in the bloc will remain resilient to concerns about the potential impact of Britain’s departure and Trump’s threats to crack down on global trade deals. EU growth is expected to accelerate from 1.6 percent in 2014 to 1.8 percent in 2018 even though British growth is forecast to slow down during that time period.

FED WATCH: Investors are awaiting a speech Thursday by Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen for possible signs of how policy might change during the Trump administration. Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said over the weekend there was “significant uncertainty” about government spending. Another board member, Daniel Tarullo, announced plans to retire, raising to three the number of empty seats Trump can fill.

ASIA’S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent to 3,216.84 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.6 percent to 23,710.99. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent to 19,459.15 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.7 percent to 5,760.70. Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 2,078.65 and India’s Sensex gained 20 points to 28,351.42. Benchmarks in New Zealand and Southeast Asia rose.

CURRENCY: The dollar gained to 113.70 yen from Friday’s 113.21 yen. The euro edged down to $1.0638 from $1.0642.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 18 cents to $53.68 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 86 cents on Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 26 cents to $56.44 in London after jumping $1.07 the previous session.