BANGKOK – World stocks rose Tuesday on hopes for progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute, which have helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high.
Germany's DAX edged almost 0.1% higher to 13,139 while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2% at 5,835. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 7,388. Markets in New York looked set to extend gains, with futures for the Dow and S&P 500 up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
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Upbeat comments by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross about progress in trade talks with China helped to brighten sentiment.
Ross said that the "Phase 1" talks now underway were making progress and that more complicated issues would not be tackled until later discussions.
He said that should help reduce tensions between the world's two largest economies that has roiled markets.
"I'm reasonably optimistic we can get something done and move toward a completion of Phase 1," he said in a conference call with reporters.
Ross is leading a trade mission in the region and helped to represent the U.S. in meetings related to the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He later is due to travel to Indonesia and Vietnam.
Shares in Uber were down 6% in premarket trading after the ride hailing company reported mounting losses.
Benchmarks rose across Asia, led by a 1.8% jump in Japan's Nikkei 225 index to close at 23,251.99. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.5% to 27,683.40 and the Shanghai Composite index also gained 0.5%, to 2,991.56. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.6% to 2,142.64. Shares also rose in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The Sensex in India shed 0.2% to 40,213.44.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 picked up 0.2% to 6,697.10 after the country's central bank opted to leave interest rates unchanged.
The Dow climbed 0.4% to 27,462.11, surpassing its prior all-time high set in July on Monday, joining other market gauges at record highs as the stock market's rally carried into a fifth week.
A resurgence in energy companies, banks and other stocks that do well when the economy is strengthening led the way.
Even in manufacturing, which has been hit particularly hard by President Donald Trump's trade war, investors were seeing some hope that things may be hitting bottom soon, though that optimism could evaporate if U.S.-China trade talks take yet another turn for the worse.
"The sweet spot for global equities looks even more pronounced here and as suggested yesterday, the current debate is not whether you are bullish, but whether there is too much short-term euphoria," Chris Weston of Pepperstone said in a commentary.
In energy trading, benchmark crude oil advanced 37 cents to $56.91 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 34 cents on Monday.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 48 cents to $62.61 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 108.84 Japanese yen from 108.59 yen on Monday. The euro fell to $1.1110 from $1.1128.