· European stocks were mostly lower Tuesday morning, as market participants prepared for key events this week and responded to a new tariff threat from the U.S.
The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index was down by just 0.1 percent with most sectors and bourses in the red. This comes after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday proposed a list of European Union products on which to slap tariffs as retaliation for European aircraft subsidies. Industrial and luxury stocks fell lower on the news, with Airbus down 1.8 percent in early deals.
· Asian shares hit an eight-month high on Tuesday as optimism about Chinese measures to boost economic growth lifted mainland markets, however, worries about U.S. earnings and a crucial Brexit summit this week limited gains.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.3 percent, hovering near its highest level since Aug. 9 last year.
· Japan’s Nikkei ended higher in choppy trade on Tuesday as tech shares and machinery stocks outperformed, while Sony jumped after Reuters reported that U.S. hedge fund Third Point was building up its stake in the company to push for changes.
Sony Corp shares jumped 9.3 percent after sources told Reuters that Third Point, which has about $14.5 billion in assets under management, is raising a dedicated investment vehicle to target between $500 million and $1billion to buy more Sony shares.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.2 percent higher to 21,802.59.
The Nikkei was trading in negative territory earlier but it turned slightly positive thanks to a rally in cyclical stocks as recent strong Chinese economic data has supported sentiment, traders said.
· China’s blue chip CSI300 index rose on Tuesday as Beijing took steps to encourage urbanisation to support economic growth, but the broader Shanghai index ended lower on uncertainty over trade talks with the United States and upcoming data releases.
At the close, the blue-chip CSI300 index gained 0.5 percent, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.2 percent at 3,239.66 points.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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