World Shares, Asian Equities Mixed

Shares in Europe were mostly lower on Friday, September 22, 2023, following mixed trading in Asia due to concerns over interest rates, as reported by Elaine Kurtenbach for the Associated Press (AP).

Germany’s DAX declined by 0.3% to 15,526.55, and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped by 0.7% to 7,163.97. I Photo: Euronext

Germany’s DAX declined by 0.3% to 15,526.55, and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped by 0.7% to 7,163.97.

Meanwhile, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose by 0.3% to 7,702.08. The futures for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher, while those for the Dow industrials remained virtually unchanged. On Thursday, the S&P 500 experienced a 1.6% loss, marking its worst day since March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also decreased by 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.8%.

In Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 2.3% to reach 18,057.45, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced by 1.6% to 3,132.43. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell by 0.5% to 32,402.41 as Japan’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1%, as expected.

In a statement, it pledged flexibility in its policies. In Seoul, the Kospi declined by 0.3% to 2,508.13. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped by 0.2% to 7,049.20, even as the government reported a $14.2 billion budget surplus for the last fiscal year.

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