European Shares Rise After Mixed Session In Asia

European shares advanced after a mixed session in Asia, with scant news driving trading.

Germany’s DAX gained 0.7% to 23,865.44, and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.5% to 7,889.84.

Markets have calmed somewhat following the turmoil unleashed by Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff offensive, aimed at compelling companies to base manufacturing inside the U.S., Jiang Junzhe reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Futures for the S&P 500 advanced 0.2%, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3%. Germany’s DAX gained 0.7% to 23,865.44, and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.5% to 7,889.84.

Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.3% to 8,660.21. Most U.S. stocks drifted higher in quiet trading Thursday, following a jumble of mixed reports that offered little clarity on how the U.S. economy is managing Trump’s trade war.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was nearly unchanged at 37,753.72 after the government reported that Japan’s economy contracted at a faster rate in the first quarter of the year.

Exports fell, consumer spending was flat, and data showed a contraction of 0.7% from a year earlier. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.5% to 23,345.05, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4% to 3,367.46.

E-commerce giant Alibaba tumbled 4.3% after the company’s financial performance missed forecasts. Seoul’s Kospi picked up 0.2% to 2,626.87, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia added 0.6% to 8,343.70. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.5%.