A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – Gains by Disney, Apple and some other large equities have helped lift US stocks into positive territory ahead of earnings from Wal-Mart Stores and Federal Reserve meeting minutes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday rose 67.78 points (0.39 per cent) to 17,545.18.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 10.90 (0.52 per cent) to 2,102.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 43.46 (0.86 per cent) to 5,091.70
Disney rose 1.8 per cent following a weekend presentation on plans to add to theme parks attractions from the wildly popular Star Wars movie franchise.
Dow members Apple and McDonald’s rose 1.0 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.
LONDON – European stock markets have ended an up-and-down session mixed at the start of a week likely to be dominated by more developments over China and Greece.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 0.01 per cent higher at 6,550.30 points despite a weak mining sector.
The CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.57 per cent to finish at 4,984.83, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dropped 0.41 per cent to 10,940.33 points.
The euro slid to $US1.1076 from $US1.1112 late on Friday in New York.
European bourses opened with gains before see-sawing on jitters over whether Friday’s Greek bailout agreement will clear eurozone parliaments, and bigger worries about China’s slowing economy.
HONG KONG – Asian shares were mixed, with Tokyo helped by better-than-expected Japanese growth figures and Shanghai boosted by a government pledge to support China’s volatile stock markets.
Hong Kong lost 0.74 per cent, or 176.38 points, to end at 23,814.65 on concerns China’s devaluation of the yuan would hurt local companies, while Shanghai rose 0.74 per cent, or 17.09 points, to 2,327.49.
Sydney ended up 0.43 per cent, or 23.16 points, at 5,379.70 and Seoul dropped 0.75 per cent, or 14.94 points, to close at 1,968.52.
Tokyo added 0.49 per cent, or 100.81 points, to end at 20,620.26 after news Japan’s economy shrank a lower-than-expected 0.4 per cent in the April-June quarter and 1.6 per cent from a year earlier.
The weak reading still beat market expectations for a quarterly fall of 0.5 per cent, or a 1.8 per cent annualised drop, and spurred hopes the government will help prop up the stumbling economy.
WELLINGTON – The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 31.35 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5727.8.
