World Shares Rise on US-China Trade Pac05/12 05:20

   World shares and U.S. futures surged Monday after the U.S. and China 
announced they were suspending for 90 days most of the sharp tariff hikes each 
has imposed since U.S. President Donald Trump began escalating his trade war.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- World shares and U.S. futures surged Monday after the U.S. 
and China announced they were suspending for 90 days most of the sharp tariff 
hikes each has imposed since U.S. President Donald Trump began escalating his 
trade war.

   A joint statement said that for a 90-day period, the U.S. will cut tariffs 
on Chinese goods to 30% from as high as 145%. China said its tariffs on U.S. 
goods will fall to 10% from 125%.

   The agreement to allow time for more talks followed weekend negotiations in 
Geneva, Switzerland, that the U.S. side said had made " substantial progress."

   The full impact on the complicated tariffs and other trade penalties enacted 
by Washington and Beijing remains unclear. And much depends on whether they 
will find ways to bridge longstanding differences during the 90-day suspension.

   But as trade envoys from the world's two biggest economies blinked, finding 
ways to pull back from potentially massive disruptions to world trade and their 
own markets, investors rejoiced.

   The future for the S&P 500 jumped 2.6% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial 
Average was up 2%.

   Oil prices rallied, with U.S. benchmark crude oil gaining $1.66 to $62.68 
per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.63 to $65.55 per 
barrel.

   The U.S. dollar surged against the Japanese yen, trading at 148.18 Japanese 
yen, up from 146.17 yen. The euro fell to $1.1107 from $1.1209.

   In other stock trading, Tokyo's market closed before the joint statement was 
issued, gaining less than 0.1% to 37,644.26. But Hong Kong's, which closes 
later, jumped 3% to 23,558.11.

   Germany's DAX gained 1% to 23,723.55 and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.8% to 
7,805.62. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher, to 8,560.42.

   Investors were also watching for developments in other flashpoints including 
clashes between India and Pakistan, the war in Ukraine and conflict in the 
Middle East.

   The Sensex in Mumbai shot up 3.2% after India and Pakistan agreed to a truce 
after talks to defuse their most serious military confrontation in decades. The 
two armies have exchanged gunfire, artillery strikes, missiles and drones that 
killed dozens of people.

   Pakistan's KSE 100 surged more than 9% and trading was halted for one hour 
following a spike driven by the ceasefire and an International Monetary Fund 
decision Friday to disburse about $1 billion of a bailout package for its 
battered economy.

   The Shanghai Composite Index picked up 0.8% to 3,369.24.

   Chinese EV battery maker CATL, or Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd., 
said in a prospectus filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it plans to 
raise nearly $4 billion in a share listing.

   Elsewhere in Asia, the Kospi in Seoul gained 1.2% to 2,607.33.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed less than 0.1% to 8,233.50.

   Taiwan's Taiex gained 1%.

   On Friday, U.S. stocks drifted, with the S&P 500 edging 0.1% lower. Last 
week was the first in seven where the index at the heart of many 401(k) 
accounts moved by less than 1.5%, after careening on fears about President 
Donald Trump's trade war and hopes that he'll relent on some of his tariffs.

   The Dow dipped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1%.

   Apart from trade talks and other geopolitical factors, the flow of earnings 
reports for the start of the year from companies is slowing but still moving 
markets.

   ---------

   itemid:62fbd84396aaea011c68231363b283de