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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Global shares edge higher on Chinese support measures

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LONDON: Global shares rose on Monday as the promise of further policy stimulus to counteract the economic hit from a coronavirus outbreak calmed nervous investors.


Trading is expected to be light, with US stocks and bond markets shut for a public holiday. Both the pan-European STOXX 600 index and Germany’s DAX reaching record highs. The MSCI All-Country World Index, which tracks shares across 47 countries, was up 0.04 per cent.


In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.17 per cent to near last week’s peak of 558.30, its highest since late January.


The gains were led by China, whose blue-chip index climbed 2.25 per cent after the country’s central bank lowered a key interest rates and injected more liquidity into the system.


Also whetting risk appetite was an announcement by China’s finance minister on Sunday that Beijing would roll out tax and fee cuts.


Most 10-year bond yields in the euro zone were 1 to 2 basis points higher, a modest move that suggested bond investors remained cautious.


“Traders are mindful of the fact the Chinese authorities intervened in the financial markets at the beginning of the month when the domestic stock markets reopened after the Lunar New Year celebrations,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets in London. — Reuters


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