Global shares rise as U.S. futures gain amid subdued holiday trading

Global shares rose Thursday in limited trading, with many markets closed for May Day, or international Labour Day holidays.

Britain’s FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1 per cent in early trading to 8,496.53. The future for the S&P 500 jumped 1.5 per cent, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 per cent.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 per cent to finish at 36,452.30. As expected, the Bank of Japan decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged as worries mount over the impact of Trump’s policies. The central bank also cut its economic growth forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026 by more than half, to 0.5 per cent from 1.1 per cent three months ago.

“Considering the significant downgrading of growth and inflation forecasts in its Quarterly Outlook Report, the central bank will likely take a long pause to assess the impact of high global trade policy uncertainty on growth and inflation,” Shigeto Nagai of Oxford Economics said in a report.

The U.S. dollar rose to 144.19 Japanese yen from 143.06 yen. The euro cost $1.1329, inching down from $1.1331.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 per cent to 8,145.60.

Uncertainty about what President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the U.S. economy remains a key focus for investors.

Trending Now

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent while the Dow gained 0.4 per cent. The Nasdaq composite index edged 0.1 per cent lower.

The U.S. has been hit with the threat of a worst-case scenario called “stagflation,” one where the economy stagnates yet inflation remains high. Economists fear it because the Federal Reserve has no good tools to fix both problems at the same time. If the Fed were to try to help one problem by adjusting interest rates, it would likely make the other worse.

A more comprehensive report on the job market from the U.S. government will arrive on Friday. Worries are simmering that Trump’s trade war may drag the U.S. economy into a recession. The president’s on-again-off-again rollout of tariffs has created deep uncertainty about what’s to come.

“I’m not taking a credit or discredit for the stock market,” Trump said Wednesday. “I’m just saying we inherited a mess.”

Uncertainty around Trump’s tariffs has already triggered historic swings for financial markets, from stocks to bonds to the value of the U.S. dollar, that battered investors.

In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude shed US$1.07 to US$57.14 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up US$1.00 to US$60.06 a barrel.