World stock markets edged up yesterday but were poised for weekly losses while the dollar eased against the yen at the end of a week roiled by investor concerns over turmoil in the US government and whether US tariffs could provoke a trade war.
The MSCI All-Country World stock index gained 0.11 per cent after three sessions of losses, but was set for a weekly fall of about 0.6 per cent.
Market participants have been anxious this week over turmoil in the US government and the spectre of a global trade war, after US President Donald Trump ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, viewed as a free trade proponent, then sought to impose $60 billion of tariffs on Chinese imports.
Headlines on Thursday reinforced those concerns, with the Washington Post reporting Mr Trump was committed to removing H.R. McMaster as national security advisor.
Simmering tensions between Russia and Britain, and fears about creeping far-right influence in Italy’s government, contributed to investor worries.
European shares found some support in deal-making activity, with exchange operator NEX Group jumping nearly 33 per cent after a takeover offer from US-based peer CME Group.
The pan-European FTSE-urofirst 300 index rose 0.47 per cent. US stocks opened higher on the back of technology and financial stocks, with JPMorgan and Bank of America each up more than 0.85 per cent and Adobe Systems rising more than 3 per cent after the Photoshop maker topped analysts’ profit and re-venue estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74.46 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 24,948.12, the S&P 500 gained 10.14 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 2,757.47 and the Nasdaq Composite added 19.39 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 7,501.13.
Wall Street was nonetheless on track for losses on the week, with the benchmark S&P down more than 1.5 per cent in the week through Thursday amid trade war fears, riding a four-session losing streak.
Oil prices were set to fall this week on concerns over rising supply from the United States.
US crude rose 0.07 per cent to $61.23 per barrel and Brent was at $65.07, down 0.08 per cent on the day.