World shares mixed; oil prices rise ahead of OPEC Plus meeting
Global shares were mixed Monday in quiet trading, with U.S. markets closed after the Fourth of July holiday.
London and Shanghai advanced, while Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong declined.
U.S. futures edged lower after Wall Street capped a milestone-shattering week Friday, with stock indexes hitting more record highs as investors welcomed a report showing the nation’s job market was even stronger last month than expected.
Oil prices reversed early losses ahead of a meeting of oil producing nations as the United Arab Emirates pushed back against a plan by the OPEC oil cartel and allied producing countries to extend a global pact to cut oil production beyond April 2022.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil picked up 22 cents to $75.38 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It shed 7 cents on Friday to $75.16 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 30 cents to $76.47 a barrel.
The United Arab Emirates, one of OPEC’s largest oil producers, wants to increase its output — setting up a contest with ally and OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia, which has led a push to keep a tight lid on production.
The combined OPEC Plus grouping of members led by Saudi Arabia and nonmembers, chief among them Russia, failed to reach an agreement Friday on oil output. Negotiations over the dispute were set to resume Monday.
Germany’s DAX lost 0.4% to 15,595.75 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.2% to 6,545.19. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher to 7,133.40. Futures in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 0.1% and those in the Dow industrials fell less than 0.1%.
Worries remain across Asia about rising coronavirus cases as outbreaks of new infections overtake vaccination efforts. In Thailand and Indonesia, local authorities have reported record high new cases.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.6% to 28,598.19 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 0.7% to 28,143.50. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% to 3,534.32 and South Korea’s Kospi picked up 0.4% to 3,293.21. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 7,315.00.
China announced over the weekend that Chinese ride-hailing service DiDi would be removed from app stores in the country in the latest blow after its shares began trading in New York on June 30.
The U.S.-listed shares of DiDi slumped 5.3% on Friday after China’s internet watchdog said it launched an investigation into the company to protect national security and public interest.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, its seventh straight gain and seventh consecutive all-time high. The benchmark index also notched its second weekly gain in a row. The Nasdaq also set a record, getting a boost from technology stocks, which led the broad market rally. The only laggards were energy stocks and banks, which fell as Treasury yields headed lower.
Treasury yields were steady Monday, with the yield for the 10-year Treasury at 1.43%.
Low interest rates help drive up prices for all kinds of stocks, but they provide particularly powerful fuel for high-growth companies whose prices may otherwise look expensive.
In currency trading, the dollar slipped to 110.89 Japanese yen from 110.99 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1873 from $1.1863.
