Global shares rose Thursday in limited trading, with many markets closed for May Day, or international Labour Day holidays.
Britain’s FTSE 100 inched up lower than 0.1 per cent in early trading to eight,496.53. The longer term for the S&P 500 jumped 1.5 per cent, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 per cent.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 per cent to complete at 36,452.30. As expected, the Bank of Japan decided to maintain its benchmark rate of interest unchanged as worries mount over the impact of Trump’s policies. The central bank also cut its economic growth forecast for the fiscal 12 months ending March 2026 by greater than half, to 0.5 per cent from 1.1 per cent three months ago.
“Considering the numerous downgrading of growth and inflation forecasts in its Quarterly Outlook Report, the central bank will likely take an extended pause to evaluate the impact of high global trade policy uncertainty on growth and inflation,” Shigeto Nagai of Oxford Economics said in a report.
The U.S. dollar rose to 144.19 Japanese yen from 143.06 yen. The euro cost $1.1329, inching down from $1.1331.
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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 per cent to eight,145.60.
Uncertainty about what President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the U.S. economy stays a key focus for investors.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent while the Dow gained 0.4 per cent. The Nasdaq composite index edged 0.1 per cent lower.
The U.S. has been hit with the specter of a worst-case scenario called “stagflation,” one where the economy stagnates yet inflation stays high. Economists fear it since the Federal Reserve has no good tools to repair each problems at the identical time. If the Fed were to attempt to help one problem by adjusting rates of interest, it will likely make the opposite worse.
A more comprehensive report on the job market from the U.S. government will arrive on Friday. Worries are simmering that Trump’s trade war may drag the U.S. economy right into a recession. The president’s on-again-off-again rollout of tariffs has created deep uncertainty about what’s to come back.
“I’m not taking a credit or discredit for the stock market,” Trump said Wednesday. “I’m just saying we inherited a multitude.”
Uncertainty around Trump’s tariffs has already triggered historic swings for financial markets, from stocks to bonds to the worth of the U.S. dollar, that battered investors.
In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude shed US$1.07 to US$57.14 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up US$1.00 to US$60.06 a barrel.
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