World shares gain in calm trading

Bangkok: World shares were mostly higher in calm trading on Monday ahead of big reports this week on the state of the US economy. Germany’s DAX picked up less than 0.1 per cent to 17,731.40 and the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.2 per cent lower, to 7,257.94. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.5 per cent to 8,206.25. The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2 per cent and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed. Aside from reports on inflation, this week will also bring updates on retail sales and unemployment. Price pressures have abated, economists say, as shoppers look for cheaper alternative products and services, returning to pre-pandemic ways.

In Asian trading on Monday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1 per cent higher, to 17,111.65 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,858.20. Markets in Tokyo and Bangkok were closed for holidays. In Seoul, the Kospi jumped 1.2 per cent to 2,618.30, as shares in Samsung Electronics gained 1.1 per cent, tracking advances in Big Tech companies late last week. Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 1.4 per cent, as computer chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. added 0.6 per cent and electronics maker Hon Hai Precision Electronics, also known as Foxconn, surged 4.5 per cent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 per cent to 7,813.70. Last week started with a jolt, as markets were slammed by heavy selling triggered by concerns over whether the US economy may be slowing too quickly.