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Global Shares Dip as Yen Falls 01/26 04:48
Global shares mostly declined Monday, as in Asia Japan's benchmark took a
tumble after the yen surged against the U.S. dollar.
TOKYO (AP) -- Global shares mostly declined Monday, as in Asia Japan's
benchmark took a tumble after the yen surged against the U.S. dollar.
France's CAC 40 dipped nearly 0.2% in early trading to 8,127.93, while the
German DAX added less than 0.1% to 24,881.34. Britain's FTSE 100 edged down
less than 0.1% to 10,138.76.
U.S. futures edged were little changed amid persisting uncertainty over U.S.
tariff policies, among other issues. The futures for the S&P 500 rose less than
0.1%, while Dow futures was virtually unchanged.
Earlier in the global day in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.8%
to finish at 52,885.25 on selling of big exporters like Toyota Motor Corp.,
whose shares fell 4.1%.
A weak currency is generally favorable for Japanese exporters because it
helps elevate the value of their overseas earnings. In recent months, the
dollar has gained against the yen. It fell sharply in the past few days after
officials in both Japan and the U.S. indicated they were prepared to intervene
to support the yen.
Although finance officials did not directly confirm such intervention was in
the works, they confirmed they were in close coordination with the U.S. on
currency fluctuations.
"Intervention chatter did the trick. Since Friday, the yen has staged a
sharp rebound on expectations that Japanese authorities -- possibly with U.S.
coordination -- would step in." said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at
Swissquote.
The dollar slipped to 153.88 Japanese yen from 155.01 yen. It had been
trading around 158 yen last week.
The euro fell to $1.1851 from $1.1858.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.8% to 4,949.59.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up less than 0.1% to 26,765.52, after
vacillating earlier in the day, while the Shanghai Composite fell nearly 0.1%
to 4,132.60.
Markets were closed in Australia, New Zealand, India and Indonesia.
Markets are also closely watching earnings reports that are expected in the
weeks ahead from various global companies, some of which might show the
negative effects from recent U.S. tariff policies.
In the latest such development, a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to
impose a 100% tariff on goods from Canada was countered by Canadian Prime
Minister Mark Carney. Trump had warned he might hike tariffs if Canada signed a
free trade deal with China. Carney said Canada had no plans for such a deal.
In 2024, Canada mirrored the United States by putting a 100% tariff on
electric vehicles from Beijing and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum. China
had responded by imposing 100% import taxes on Canadian canola oil and meal and
25% on pork and seafood.
Breaking with the United States this month during a visit to China, Carney
cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on
those Canadian products.
In other dealings Monday, benchmark U.S. crude rose 43 cents to $61.50 a
barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 48 cents to $65.55 a
barrel.
Gold gained 2% to over $5,100 an ounce, while silver jumped 5.5% to $109.81
per ounce. The value of precious metals has surged in recent months as
investors sought relatively safe places to invest.
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