Global shares mostly lower as investors wary over stimulus

| | Tokyo
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Global shares mostly lower as investors wary over stimulus

Tuesday, 23 February 2021 | AP | Tokyo

Global shares were mostly lower on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark rising but most others slipping despite hopes for a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic with the global rollout of vaccines.

France’s CAC 40 slipped 1.1 per cent in early trading to 5,708.39, while Germany’s DAX dove 1.3  per cent to 13,816.87. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 1.1  per cent to 6,554.12. U.S. Shares were to open lower, with the future contract for the Dow industrials sliding 0.7  per cent to 31,224. The S&P 500 future fell nearly 1  per cent to 3,865.12.

Benchmarks rose in Japan but fell in South Korea, Australia and China. Investors remain focused on the future of global economies badly hit by COVID-19 and when and whether there will be enough stimulus to fix it.

But the U.S. USD 1.9 trillion economic package proposed by President Joe Biden also heralds hope for export-reliant regional economies.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 per cent to finish at 30,156.03.

South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.9 per cent to 3,079.75. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.2  per cent lower to 6,780.90. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1 per cent to 30,319.83, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.5 per cent to 3,642.44.

Japan began administering vaccines for COVID-19 last week.

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