Global stocks rise even as China’s manufacturing slows – KIRO 7 News Seattle

SINGAPORE – (AP) – Global stocks started the week higher on Monday, despite China reporting a slowdown in manufacturing activity and countries continuing to be affected by the Delta variant.

Investors were spurred on by encouraging gains on Wall Street, which recently closed another strong month. The S&P 500 had six consecutive months of gains through July.

The French CAC 40 rose 1% to 6,677.27 in early trading, while the German DAX rose 0.4% to 15,606.27. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.9% to 7,096.59.

US stocks were set for a positive open, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.6% to 4,414.75. Dow futures rose 0.5% to 35,007.

A remarkable 89% of the companies in the S&P 500 have beat earnings expectations, but it’s unclear whether the market rally will continue, said Yeap Jun Rong of IG.

“Guidelines from several large tech companies suggest slower growth and markets may need to find another catalyst to keep pushing higher,” he added.

The moves follow a brisk Asian session as Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.8% to close at 27,781.02. Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.7% to 3,223.04, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.1% to 26,235.80.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2% to 3,464.29 and the Australian S & P / ASX 200 rose 1.3% to 7,491.40. The benchmarks rose predominantly across the region.

The gains in China follow data released Saturday by the National Bureau of Statistics, which shows the country’s official purchasing managers’ index fell from 50.9 in June to 50.4 in July. Numbers above 50 indicate expansion on the 100 point scale.

On Monday, a monthly survey by business magazine Caixin in July found a value of 50.3. That was less than June 51.3.

The official number was the lowest since February 2020, when a lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus was in place. Analysts had expected less relaxation in production activity.

China is also dealing with an outbreak of the delta variant of the corona virus, which is already rampant in many other Asian countries.

Traders are also watching Beijing crack down on Chinese tech companies, although authorities wanted to allay fears.

Games and social media giant Tencent Holding Ltd. fell 0.8% in Hong Kong on Monday. However, internet search giant Baidu Inc. gained 2.2% and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group gained 1.5%.

The Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen indices fell in early trading before “abruptly reversing course” as foreign investors poured nearly $ 1 billion into the markets, Oanda’s Jeffrey Halley said in a report.

“That has seen an amazing reversal as regulatory risk has been forgotten,” added Halley.

In other trading, US benchmark crude fell 65 cents to $ 73.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude fell 62 cents to $ 74.79.

The US dollar rose to 109.65 Japanese yen from 109.62 yen on Friday. The euro rose from $ 1.1875 to $ 1.1888.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any way without permission.