World shares are mixed as conservatives win German election

[February 24, 2025]  By ELAINE KURTENBACH

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Monday after U.S. stocks fell sharply following reports showing the U.S. economy may be suffering as consumers and businesses fret over President Donald Trump’s policies.

German shares advanced after conservatives won an election dominated by concerns about Europe’s largest economy. The DAX jumped 0.7% to 22,439.17 after provisional results confirmed that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won the national election, while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest.

In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 0.2% to 8,138.47, while the Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher, to 8,669.45.

Markets were closed in Tokyo for a holiday.

In other Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index wavered before closing down 0.6% higher at 23,341.61. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2% to 3,373.03.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1% to 8,308.20. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.4% to 2,645.27, while the Taiex in Taiwan fell 0.7%. India's Sensex also declined 0.7%.

On Friday, the S&P 500 sank 1.7% for its worst day in two months, closing at 6,013.13, after several weaker-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 748 points, or 1.7%, to 43,428.02, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.2% to 19,524.01.

A report from S&P Global suggested U.S. business activity is close to stalling, with growth slowing to a 17-month low as activity unexpectedly shrank for U.S. services businesses. Many in the survey reported pessimism over the future.

“Companies report widespread concerns about the impact of federal government policies, ranging from spending cuts to tariffs and geopolitical developments,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Sales are reportedly being hit by the uncertainty caused by the changing political landscape, and prices are rising amid tariff-related price hikes from suppliers.”

"We have factored rising U.S. tariffs and related countermeasures into our forecasts since December 2024, with trade weakness the primary cause of the projected slowdown in quarter- over-quarter global real GDP growth rates this year. Weaker investment is a key downside risk,” Ken Wattret, a global economist at S&P Global, said in a report.

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A separate report said U.S. consumers are bracing for higher inflation, in part because of potential tariffs that could raise prices for all kinds of imports. They’re broadly expecting prices to be 4.3% higher 12 months from now, which is a big jump from their forecast of 3.3% inflation last month, according to a survey by the University of Michigan.

A third report said sales of previously occupied homes were weaker last month than economists expected. Relatively high mortgage rates, along with expensive prices for homes, have been hurting sales.

Stocks of the smallest companies, whose profits can be more closely tied to the strength of the U.S. economy than big multinational rivals, fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index of small stocks dropped a market-leading

Akamai Technologies had the sharpest drop in the S&P 500, losing 27.1% even though the cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Better-than-expected profit reports had been helping to offset worries about stubbornly high inflation, which could prevent the Federal Reserve from delivering more relief for the economy and financial markets through lower interest rates.

The Fed has been holding its main interest rate steady after sharply cutting it through the end of last year. At their last policy meeting in January, Fed officials suggested they may stay on hold for a while given worries about how Trump’s proposed tariffs and mass deportations of migrants, along with other factors, could push upward on inflation.

While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also encourage spending that puts upward pressure on inflation.

In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 9 cents to $70.31 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4 cents to $74.01 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 149.50 Japanese yen from 149.24 yen. The euro climbed to $1.0481 from $1.0462.

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