European Shares Slip But Chinese Markets Lead Gains In Asia

Global shares were mixed on Thursday as European markets retreated following gains in Asia, where Chinese stocks rallied after Beijing announced a raft of policies to support sagging markets, Yuri Kageyama reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The Milan Stock Exchange. The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged.

France’s CAC 40 lost 0.2% to 7,440.66, and Germany’s DAX slipped 0.3% to 16,849.26. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower, to 7,521.19. The futures for the S&P 500 were little changed while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%.

The European Central Bank was expected to keep interest rates unchanged Thursday, and its meeting could see ECB boss Christine Lagarde send a message to financial markets to cool it with expectations for rapid rate cuts.

In Asian trading, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 2.0% to 16,211.96, while the Shanghai Composite index was up 3.0%, at 2,906.11.

Late Wednesday, the Chinese central bank announced a set of rules to govern lending to property developers. Earlier, it said it would cut bank reserve requirements to put about 1 trillion yuan ($141 billion) into the economy.

Shares in Chinese property developers jumped Thursday, with China Evergrande up 6.4% and Country Garden gaining 5.9%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was little changed, finishing about 10 points higher at 36,236.47.

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