Stocks rise on China hopes, euro recovers | Trend from our network

Global stocks mostly rose on Tuesday, with U.S. and German indices hitting records, as markets weighed hopes for a stimulus package in China, political tensions in France and the interest rate outlook in the U.S.

Germany’s blue-chip DAX stock index jumped above 20,000 points for the first time and Paris recovered even as France braced for new political unrest. In New York, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose narrowly to record highs, while the Dow fell.

Oil prices rose more than 2 percent after reports that crude exporters were close to reaching an agreement to expand production limits.

A closely watched jobs report showed a rise in U.S. job openings in October but also a decline in new job postings during the month, a less optimistic sign.

Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the data overall provided “good reasons” for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again this month.

Still, Tuesday’s choppy trading session in New York points to U.S. investors’ reluctance after a series of post-election records that many experts say have led to overvaluation of stocks.

“There wasn’t much conviction behind the moves higher,” Briefing.com said. “The general sentiment in the market was more negative.”

Stocks rose slightly in Paris even as France plunged into a new political crisis as opposition lawmakers vowed to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s minority government in a vote of no confidence after just three months in office.

Meanwhile, Germany’s DAX reached a new milestone, defying several headwinds plaguing Europe’s largest economy.

The German economy, hit hard by a manufacturing downturn and weak export demand, struggled in 2024. Nevertheless, the DAX has risen to a large extent because the companies represented in the index do major business abroad.

In addition, the recent weakness of the euro has given a boost to export-oriented companies in Germany, while the interest rate cut in both the eurozone and the US has also brightened sentiment.

Investors welcomed a Bloomberg report that China’s top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, would hold a two-day economic conference next week to lay out their goals and stimulus plans for next year.

The report followed manufacturing activity data on Monday that suggested China’s economic woes may be coming to an end, but investors expect Beijing to step up support for the economy.

The news helped drive stock markets higher in Hong Kong and Shanghai, even as Washington announced new export restrictions targeting Beijing’s ability to produce advanced semiconductors.

The moves add to existing U.S. efforts to tighten export restrictions on cutting-edge AI chips to China.

Beijing countered by announcing that it would restrict exports of some key semiconductor manufacturing components to the United States.

Oil prices jumped ahead of a meeting of members of the OPEC oil cartel and its allies on Thursday

“The forecast is that they will announce an extension until the end of the first quarter of 2025 and this should help drive prices down,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.

– Key figures at 2130 GMT –

New York – Dow: 0.2 percent down at 44,705.53 (closing price)

New York – S&P 500: Plus 0.1 percent at 6,049.88 (close)

New York – Nasdaq Composite: Plus 0.4 percent at 19,480.91 (closing price)

London – FTSE 100: Plus 0.6 percent at 8,359.41 (closing price)

Paris – CAC 40: Plus 0.3 percent at 7,255.42 (closing price)

Frankfurt – DAX: Plus 0.4 percent at 20,016.75 (closing)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Plus 1.9 percent to 39,248.86 (closing price)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Up 1.0 percent to 19,746.32 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: Plus 0.4 percent at 3,378.81 (closing price)

Euro/dollar: up to $1.0511 from $1.0498 on Monday

Pound/Dollar: Up to $1.2673 from $1.2655

Dollar/Yen: Decrease to 149.53 yen from 149.60 yen

Euro/Pound: DOWN to 82.94 from 82.95p

North Sea Brent crude oil: increase of 2.5 percent to USD 73.62 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: Up 2.7 percent to $69.94 a barrel

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