Global shares trade higher after Wall Street climbs moderately as Fed
holds rates steady
[May 08, 2025] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares rose moderately Thursday after a lackluster
finish on Wall Street, with most shares ticking higher after the Federal
Reserve left its main interest rate unchanged, as was widely expected.
France's CAC 40 rose 0.7% in early trading to 7,682.21, while Germany's
DAX jumped 1.0% to 23,347.88. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 8,581.51.
U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures gaining 0.5% to
41,434.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.9% to 5,701.25.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.4% to finish at 36,928.63.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% to 8,191.70. South Korea's Kospi rose
0.2% to 2,579.48. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 0.4% to 22,775.92, while
the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3% to 3,352.00.
Investors continue to watch with trepidation U.S. President Donald Trump
's comments about the trade imbalance, as well as the reactions from
various nations to appease the Trump administration and the overall
confusion over the long-term economic impact.
Geopolitical tensions also weighed on market sentiments, centered around
the standoff between India and Pakistan. Pakistan has said it will
avenge those killed by India’s missile strikes, which New Delhi called
retaliation for last month’s massacre of Indian tourists in
India-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan called the strikes an act of war and
claimed it downed several Indian fighter jets.
The missiles killed 31 people, including women and children, in
Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country’s Punjab province,
Pakistan’s military said. The strikes targeted at least nine sites
“where terrorist attacks against India have been planned,” India’s
Defense Ministry said. Two mosques were hit.
Markets are also hopeful that the United States and China may be making
the first moves toward a trade deal. The announcement for high-level
talks between U.S. and Chinese officials this weekend in Switzerland
helped raise optimism, but some of that washed away after Trump said
that he wouldn't reduce his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods as a condition
for negotiations.
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A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's
Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Tokyo.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
 Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that
gives the central bank time to wait before making any potential
moves on interest rates, even if Trump has been lobbying for quicker
cuts to juice the economy.
“There’s so much that we don’t know,” Powell said. So like the rest
of Wall Street and the world, the Fed is waiting to see what will
actually end up happening in Trump’s trade war and whether his
tariffs, which were much stiffer than expected, will hit as
proposed.
“For now, trade optimism is outweighing yesterday’s Fed hawkishness
and may help set the tone for the rest of the week—especially with
the U.S. and China preparing to meet in Geneva to discuss their
unsustainable tariff situation," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior
analyst at Swissquote Bank.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 38 cents to $58.40 a
barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 31 cents to
$61.43 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 144.72 Japanese yen
from 143.76 yen. The euro cost $1.1288, down from $1.1317.
___
Damian J. Troise and Stan Choe contributed to this report from New
York.
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