Global shares rise, China falls after tough talk from Xi
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly higher Friday, though markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong declined a day after the Chinese Communist Party marked its centenary with tough talk by President Xi Jinping.
France's CAC 40 edged down nearly 0.1% to 6,548.52. German's DAX gained 0.2% to 15,629.70. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 7,134.65. The future for the Dow industrials was virtually unchanged at 34,511.0, and the S&P 500 future edged up less than 0.1%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to finish at 28,783.28. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, inching down less than 0.1% to 3,281.78. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 7,308.60. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.8% to 28,310.42, while the Shanghai Composite was also down nearly 2% at 3,518.76.
In his speech, Xi warned that anyone who tries to bully China “will face broken heads and bloodshed.”
He appeared to be hitting back at the U.S. and others that have criticized China's trade and technology polices, military expansion and human rights record. The harsh rhetoric also appeared aimed at a domestic audience. But coming at a time of sharp tension with Washington, it struck an ominous tone.
Concerns about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and whether vaccinations can contain it also are overhanging markets in Asia.
Fitch Solutions forecast in a report that Japan's economy will start to recover as growing numbers of people are vaccinated for COVID-19. Japan's vaccine rollout pace is about the same as the rest of Asia's, with about 10% of the population fully vaccinated. That lags the U.S. and much of Europe.
”We do note that the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic did create a significantly low base from which to grow from," Fitch said.
“The recovery in retail sales...
