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World shares advanced Tuesday after China announced it would relax more of its pandemic restrictions despite widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 that are straining its medical systems and disrupting business. China's National Health Commission said Monday that passengers arriving from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, starting Jan. 8. They will still need a negative virus test within 48 hours of their departure and to wear masks on their flights. But it was the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures that have severely limited travel to and from the world's No. 2 economy. With economic activity floundering, and multinationals questioning the viability of China as a sourcing location, policymakers have as so many times in the past adopted a very business-like approach," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. Companies welcomed the move as an important step toward reviving slumping business activity. Germany's DAX gained 0
World stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday after Wall Street pulled back as surprisingly strong economic reports highlighted the challenges the Federal Reserve faces in battling inflation. Germany's DAX lost 0.2% to 14,421.84 and the CAC 40 in Paris also was down 0.2%, at 6,682.03. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 6,679.98. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials were 0.1% lower. Highlighting worries over recession, Fitch Ratings revised its forecasts for world economic growth downward on Tuesday to reflect the Fed's and other central banks' interest rate hikes. The ratings agency's Global Economic Outlook report estimated global growth at 1.4% in 2023, revised down from 1.7% in its September forecast. It put U.S. growth in 2023 at 0.2%, down from 0.5%, as the pace of monetary policy tightening increases. China's growth forecast was cut to a 4.1% annual pace from 4.5%. Markets have been lifted by expectations China will press ahead with easing its stringent pandemic ...
Global stocks fell for a third day Friday after more rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to control persistent inflation spurred fears of a possible global recession. London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Oil prices fell by more than $1 per barrel. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Wall Street futures were lower following rate hikes Thursday by central banks in Britain, Switzerland, Turkey and the Philippines. The Fed hiked its key rate on Wednesday for a fifth time this year and indicated more rises were on the way. Global equities are struggling as the world anticipates surging rates will trigger a much sooner and possibly severe global recession, Edward Moya of Oanda said in a report. In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.6% to 7,127.70 and the DAX in Frankfurt shed 0.3% to 12,490.55. The CAC 40 in Paris was 0.2% lower at 5,905.20. On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and Dow Jones
Global shares were mostly higher Thursday as investors welcomed encouraging economic data and quarterly earnings reports from big companies. European shares mostly headed higher in early trading. Benchmarks advanced in Asia as jitters eased over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. The gains followed a strong rally on Wall Street. France's CAC 40 added 0.5% in early trading to 6,501.54, while Germany's DAX gained 0.7% to 13,688.05. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 7,426.95. The future for the Dow industrials inched up less than 0.1% while that for the S&P 500 also was little changed, up by less than 0.1%. Analysts said geopolitical risks remained after Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in defiance of Beijing, with China conducting military exercises near the self-ruled island that it claims as its own territory. Despite the easing in immediate concerns, investors will be looking out for any potential escalation in US-China tensions, with any economic sanctions from China likely .