Global stocks rise following Trump’s upbeat speech

TOKYO / AP

Global stocks turned higher on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump delivered a relatively upbeat speech to the US Congress. Investors were watching for signals on what’s ahead in trade, regulations and tax policies, though they got few specifics.
France’s CAC 40 gained 1.6 percent to 4,936 and Germany’s DAX jumped 1.4 percent 11,998. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.1 percent to 7,340. Wall Street looked set for gains, with Dow futures up 0.4 percent and S&P 500 futures 0.5 percent higher.
In his speech, Trump struck a less confrontational tone than usual and steered away from dramatically negative descriptions of the state of the US economy. He also reiterated his pledges to reform taxes, slash red tape and ramp up spending on defense and infrastructure projects. The promises have helped send US stock benchmarks to records, but Trump offered little by way of detail.
“Trump’s speech… offered only a little additional clarity on the tax reforms and additional spending the White House will be seeking,” said Paul Ashworth, from Capital Economics. He noted Trump floated the idea of as much as $1 trillion in infrastructure investment, though that will be hard to get approved by Congress. And tax reform could take a year or longer to implement.
Investors were listening closely to Trump’s speech to Congress, hoping for concrete policies to match his promises for an economic revival. Trump’s plans for tax reform, deregulation and ramped up spending on defense and infrastructure projects have mostly sent world share benchmarks higher.
“President Trump’s address will undoubtedly create short term volatility this morning in most markets. Markets will be hanging on every word, looking for some tremendously wonderful concrete details of his administration’s fiscal plans,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Benchmark US crude rose 13 cents to $54.14 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It slipped 4 cents Tuesday. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, gained 19 cents to $56.70 a barrel in London. The dollar rose to 113.83 yen from Tuesday’s 112.57 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0527 from $1.0586.

ASIAN MARKETS MOSTLY LOWER
Asian markets were mostly higher Wednesday as attention turned to President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress for clues on what might be ahead for trade, regulations and taxes. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 percent in morning trading to 19,222.56. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6 percent at 5,676.90. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4 percent to 23,824.17, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5 percent to 3,257.53. South Korea’s markets were closed for a holiday. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 fell 0.5 percent to 5,685.00.
The Dow fell 25.20 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,812.24. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 6.11 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,363.64. The Nasdaq composite index lost 36.46 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,825.44.