BANGKOK — Global shares were mostly higher on Monday, as investors shrugged off disappointing growth data from the U.S. and lackluster but better-than-expected manufacturing figures for China.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.2 percent higher to 6,736.16 and Germany’s DAX gained 0.6 percent to 10,401.12. Wall Street seemed set for an upbeat start to the week, with Dow Futures and S&P futures both up 0.2 percent.
WALL STREET: Stocks were mostly higher on Friday, helped by better-than-expected quarterly results from Google’s parent Alphabet and retailer Amazon and a modest recovery in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.1 percent to 18,432.24, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.2 percent to 2,173.60 and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1 percent to 5,162.13.
CHINA MANUFACTURING: Two surveys show manufacturing activity in July was weak, but better than some forecasters had expected. A business magazine, Caixin, said Monday its purchasing managers index rose to 50.6 from June’s 48.6 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show expansion. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, an industry group, said its separate PMI edged down to 49.9 in July from 50 in June.
THE QUOTE: “Today’s better-than-expected PMI data are consistent with our view that we should see a policy-driven pick-up in growth during the second half of this year,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a commentary. “Admittedly, unresolved structural issues mean this pick-up is on borrowed time and we still expect growth to slow again next year. Nonetheless, with the delayed impact of stronger credit growth still feeding through to the real economy, we expect further improvement in the data out of China in the short-run.”
U.S. DATA DISAPPOINT: The U.S. Commerce Department reported the growth in the April-June quarter was only 1.2 percent, below expectations for over 2.1 percent. Durable goods figures were also weak. But a relatively weak performance may lift the spirits of investors hoping to see the U.S. Federal Reserve hold back on its next interest rate hike.
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index gained 0.4 percent to 16,635.77 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.1 percent to 22,129.14. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.7 percent to 2,029.61 and Australia’s A&P ASX/200 rose 0.5 percent, to 5,587.40. India’s Sensex lost 0.2 percent to 27,992.22 and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.9 percent to 2,953.39. Shares in Southeast Asia and Taiwan were higher.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 16 cents to $41.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday it reversed earlier losses to close up 46 cents at $41.60. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, rose 19 cents to $43.72. On Friday it gained 30 cents to $43.53 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 102.49 yen from 102.09 yen on Friday. The euro slipped to $1.1170 from $1.1073.
