World shares mostly gain as investors watch Trump-Xi summit

World shares were mostly higher on Thursday after Wall Street set more records, as investors closely monitored takeaways from US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Trump met with Xi at the Great Hall of the People and they talked about US-China relations and Taiwan, but analysts did not expect major breakthroughs. US futures edged higher.

In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 per cent to 10,351.36, after the UK reported its economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace at 0.3 per cent for March despite impacts from the war in Iran. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6 per cent to 8,057.64, and Germany’s DAX gained 1.4 per cent to 24,462.22.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was down 1 per cent to 62,654.05, after briefly reaching another all-time intraday record at above 63,700, partly supported by robust corporate results.

South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.8 per cent higher at 7,981.41 at a fresh record helped by technology-related stocks on the artificial intelligence boom. The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.5 per cent to 4,177.92. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng flatlined at 26,389.04.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1 per cent to 8,640.70. Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.9per cent, and India’s Sensex climbed 1.1 per cent.

Oil prices were mixed, with no clear ending to the Iran war after more than two months. Some were hoping the Trump-Xi meeting could bring results, after US officials said Beijing could use its close economic ties with Tehran to press Iran to reopen the Strait or Hormuz.

On Thursday, the White House said Trump and Xi discussed enhancing US-China economic cooperation. Both sides also agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 0.2 per cent at $105.87 per barrel. It was around $70 a barrel before the war in Iran started late February. That also came after the International Energy Agency said Wednesday that supply losses from the strait were “depleting global oil inventories at a record pace”.

Benchmark US crude was down 0.2 per cent to $100.86 per barrel. Investors are also watching for updates on China’s imports of Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips, after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was confirmed to be a part of Trump’s China trip alongside other top executives, including Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. The US business leaders met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, technology stocks led Wall Street gains. The benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.6 per cent to 7,444.25 and reached another all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.1 per cent to 49,693.20, while the technology—heavy Nasdaq composite rose 1.2 per cent to 26,402.34 and set its own record. In other dealings, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.46 per cent from 4.47 per cent, though still significantly above around 3.97 per cent from before the Iran war began.

A report on Wednesday showed that US wholesale prices surged in April, fuelled by impacts from the Iran war-caused energy shock.

On Wednesday, the US Senate also confirmed Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee, to lead the Federal Reserve. He would take over from Jerome Powell, who had been criticised by Trump repeatedly for not cutting rates faster or deeper.

The US dollar rose to 157.91 Japanese yen from 157.86 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1709, down from $1.1711.