Asian shares fell but European benchmarks edged higher Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more economic stimulus for a world battling a pandemic.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.5per cent to 5,591.22 and Germany’s DAX added 0.5per cent to 14,004.17. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to 6,548.01. U.S. Shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures inching up less than 0.1% to 30,638.5. S&P 500 futures were also up by nearly 0.1%, at 3,826.62. Also on market players’ minds is the global vaccine rollout, which is becoming more organised in the U.S., but has yet to play out in much of Asia, except for China, where the pandemic started. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.1per cent to finish at 28,341.95, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.4per cent to 3,087.55.