Global markets mostly higher after Dow hits record

BEIJING — Global stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday after a post-U.S. election rally drove the Dow Jones industrial average to a new high.

KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent to 6,681.70 in early trading while Germany’s DAX gained 0.2 per cent to 10,732.90. France’s CAC 40 added 0.1 per cent to 4,555.11. On Tuesday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent, the CAC 40 added 0.4 per cent and the DAX gained 0.3 per cent. On Wall Street, the future for the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.05 per cent and that for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index up 0.07 per cent.

ASIA’S DAY: Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 1.3 per cent to 5,484.40 and Seoul’s Kospi advanced 0.2 per cent to 1,987.95. India’s Sensex gained 0.5 per cent to 26,081.22 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended unchanged at 22,676.69. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.2 per cent to 3,241.14. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Benchmarks in New Zealand and Taiwan gained while Indonesia retreated.

WALL STREET: The Dow surpassed 19,000 for the first time. Retailers soared after strong earnings from Dollar Tree and Burlington Stores. Health care stocks slumped after weak results from medical device company Medtronic. The Dow has closed at a record high six times in the two weeks since the presidential election, but trading volume has fallen.

ANALYST’S TAKE: “The bulls have got control here,” Chris Weston of IG said in a report. “U.S. equity and many other developed markets are going higher, at least in the short-term.” Weston noted investors assume the U.S. Federal Reserve will go ahead with an interest rate hike in December. “Emerging markets have found support and are even attracting buyers,” said Weston. “If the Fed were to assess financial conditions in the wake of a potential rate hike they would be wholly enthused.”

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TRUMP WATCH: President-elect Donald Trump affirmed plans to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a brief video statement but avoided mentioning his campaign pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border. Trump’s gradual release of policy plans after giving few details on the campaign trail has started to ease investor uncertainty and shore up share prices. “As Trump has rowed back and not mentioned some of his more extreme policy sound bites, some worries about the nature of his presidency may have begun to abate,” Alex Furber of CMC Markets said in a report.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 111.04 yen while the euro fell to $1.0611 from Tuesday’s $1.0630.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 15 cents to $47.88 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 21 cents on Tuesday to close at $48.03. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 12 cents to $49.00 in London. The contract added 22 cents the previous session to $49.12.

Joe McDonald, The Associated Press