World shares mostly higher; Tokyo slips as virus cases surge

World shares were mostly higher Thursday though Tokyos benchmark declined as reports of rising coronavirus cases raised alarm over another setback in the recovery from the pandemic.Germanys DAX rose 0.2 per cent to 15,199.69 while the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.5 per cent to 6,160.41.

World shares were mostly higher Thursday though Tokyo's benchmark declined as reports of rising coronavirus cases raised alarm over another setback in the recovery from the pandemic.

Germany's DAX rose 0.2 per cent to 15,199.69 while the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.5 per cent to 6,160.41. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1 per cent higher to 6,890.55. The future contract for the S&P 500 added 0.3 per cent to 4,083.30. The future for the Dow industrials gained less than 0.1 per cent to 33,348.00. Trading has been subdued this week as many countries grapple with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as new infections appear to be outpacing inoculations in many places. Tokyo reported 545 new cases Thursday, the highest since early February, and its governor asked the central government to let her issue binding orders under a new virus prevention law that includes penalties for business owners who defy measures and compensation for those who comply. Osaka in western Japan declared a medical emergency as its hospitals became inundated with new cases.

New cases in India hit a record on Thursday with 126,789, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi got his second shot and urged others to follow suit, saying “vaccination is among the few ways we have to defeat the virus.” The Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1 per cent to 29,708.98, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.2 per cent to 29,008.07. In Seoul, the Kospi edged 0.2 per cent higher to 3,143.26.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1 per cent to 6,998.80. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.3 per cent to 3,482.55.

Investors are showing cautious optimism about the economic recovery, especially in the U.S., where v accine distribution has been ramping up and President Joe Biden has bumped up his deadline for states to make doses available to all adults by April 19. On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 inched up 0.1 per cent to 4,079.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 per cent to 33,446.26. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1 per cent to 13,688.84. The S&P 500 and Dow each set record highs on Monday.

Small company stocks, which have been outgaining the broader market this year, took the brunt of the selling. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 1.6 per cent, to 2,223.05. The index is up 12.6 per cent so far this year, while the S&P 500, which tracks large companies, is up 8.6 per cent.

Analysts expect the economy to recover this year, but they also anticipate the market remain choppy as investors shift money to companies and industries that stand to benefit as the pandemic eases. A proposal to invest heavily in major infrastructure, from roads and ports to broadband, education and training could hasten that rebound. Shares were little changed Wednesday following the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting on interest rate policy. The minutes revealed that Fed officials were encouraged last month by evidence the U.S. economy was picking up, but they showed no sign of moving closer to ending their bond purchases or lifting their benchmark short-term interest rate from nearly zero. Investors were reassured by the Fed's “very optimistic and balanced tone of more growth and transitory inflation,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.

“And it keeps U.S. investors in the candy store mode while feeding off the infrastructure stimulus sugar rush.” The yield on the 10-year Treasury was steady at 1.65per cent.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 34 cents to USD59.43 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It picked up 44 cents to USD59.77 per barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard for pricing, gave up 21 cents to USD62.95 per barrel. The U.S. dollar slipped to 109.46 Japanese yen from 109.85 yen. The euro rose to USD1.1881 from USD1.1868.