World shares were mixed Tuesday, but London’s FTSE 100 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led regional gains as investors brushed off lingering concerns over global trade tensions. US stock futures also surged ahead of Wall Street’s reopening after the Memorial Day holiday.The FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 per cent to 8,786.34 in early trading after a British bank holiday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4 per cent to 23,371.40. The gains came as market sentiment steadied following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that a planned 50 per cent tariff on European Union goods would be delayed until July 9, AP reported.US futures pointed higher, with the S&P 500 up 1.2 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.1 per cent. Investors were awaiting fresh data on US consumer confidence and housing prices later in the day.Germany’s DAX ticked up 0.1 per cent to 24,039.21, while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1 per cent to 7,818.02.In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.5 per cent higher at 37,724.11, reversing early losses after comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, who signaled that interest rate hikes could be on the horizon due to inflationary pressures.Ueda cited a surge in food costs — including rice prices doubling over the past year — as a key driver of inflation, which now exceeds the BOJ’s 2 per cent target and is running hotter than in the US or Europe. However, he noted global uncertainty, including trade tensions, complicates monetary policy decisions.“We are now closer to the target than at any time during the last three decades, though we are not quite there. Our recent path has been affected in a unique way by supply shocks,” Ueda said Tuesday.Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3 per cent to 2,637.22. The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent to 3,340.69, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 per cent to 8,407.60. Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 0.9 per cent, and India’s Sensex fell 0.3 per cent.In energy trading, US benchmark crude oil was unchanged at $61.53 per barrel, while Brent crude added 6 cents to $64.18 per barrel.In currency markets, the US dollar strengthened to 143.48 Japanese yen from 142.85 yen, while the euro slipped to $1.1369 from $1.1388.Despite Trump’s tariff delay, market reaction was relatively muted, said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.“Investors know this act by heart,” Innes wrote in a commentary. “The volatility is still there, but like a horror franchise on its fifth sequel, the jump scares are losing their bite. Panic-selling into a Trump pirouette doesn’t pay like it used to — markets have seen this dance before.”The EU’s chief trade negotiator said Monday that discussions with the Trump administration had been positive, and that the bloc remained “fully committed” to securing a trade deal by the new July 9 deadline.Last week, Trump had posted on social media that EU trade talks were “going nowhere,” threatening to impose “straight 50 per cent” tariffs as soon as June 1.On Friday, US markets retreated, with the S&P 500 shedding 0.7 per cent to close out its worst week in seven. The Dow Jones slipped 0.6 per cent and the Nasdaq composite fell 1 per cent.
