Global stocks rose today after a promise of stimulus from China helped to counter pessimism over weak trade data from the country, while oil prices stabilized after sharp losses.
France's CAC 40 added 0.2 per cent to 4,332 and Germany's DAX also rose 0.3 per cent to 10,013. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent to 6,127. Dow and S&P 500 futures both edged up 0.3 per cent.
China's Cabinet approved measures to boost exports as Beijing struggles to reduce gluts in many industries and reverse an export decline that threatens to cause politically dangerous job losses. The measures announced late yesterday include more bank lending, an increase in tax rebates and support for export credits. They followed a decline in trade in April.
US crude fell 7 cents to USD 43.37 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, adding to its USD 1.22 drop overnight. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, added 43 cents to USD 44.07 a barrel in London.
"Two developing macro themes are set to dominate markets in the near-term: the continued gain in the US dollar and the pullback in the oil price. Last night saw these trends continue to develop," Angus Nicholson of IG said in a note.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 2.2 per cent to 16,565.19 as the dollar regained strength, a boon for the nation's exporters. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 per cent to 5,342.80. South Korea's Kospi added 0.8 per cent to 1,982.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 per cent to 20,242.68, while the Shanghai Composite inched up 0.02 per cent to 2,832.59.
The dollar rose to 109.22 yen from 108.29 yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1370 from USD 1.1401.
