Global stocks mixed after Wall Street rises on dealmaking

Global stock markets were mixed Tuesday after Wall Street rose on a flurry of corporate deals and China's economic activity improved.

London opened higher while Shanghai and Hong Kong gained. Tokyo declined and Frankfurt opened lower. U.S. stock futures gained.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index closed 1.3 per cent higher on Monday, erasing much of last week's loss.

“Wall St. appears to have recovered some of its mojo,” Mizuho Bank said in a report.

“The question to ask, though, is whether we are dealing with optimism or there is just optimism about deals."

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.2 per cent to 6,038.41 while the DAX in Frankfurt sank 0.2 per cent to 13,162.48. The CAC 40 in France lost 0.2 per cent to 5,039.71.

On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3 per cent.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5 per cent to 3,295.68 after August retail sales rose 0.5 per cent over a year earlier for their first positive growth this year.

The Chinese statistics agency cited it as a sign of “stable and continuous” economic recovery.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.4 per cent to 23,454.89 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.4 per cent to 24,734.71. The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney was down less than 0.1 per cent at 5,894.50.

India's Sensex advanced 0.4 per cent to 38,903.72. Singapore and Bangkok gained while New Zealand and Jakarta retreated.

On Monday, tech stocks gained on Wall Street after Nvidia agreed to buy Softbank's stake in chipmaker Arm Holdings for USD 40 billion.

Oracle climbed 4.3 per cent after the software maker beat out Microsoft to become the “trusted technology provider” of Chinese-owned video app TikTok.

The deal requires approval from the Trump administration, which deemed TikTok a security risk and demanded its sale to a U.S. owner.

In other deals, Gilead agreed to buy Immunomedics for USD 21 billion. Verizon purchased Tracfone for $6.25 billion and Alibaba invested USD 4 billion in Grab.

The S&P 500's gain reversed part of last week's 2.5 per cent slide, the biggest weekly decline since June.

The Dow rose 1.2 per cent while the Nasdaq, which includes many tech stocks, picked up 1.9 per cent.

This week's strong start is a reversal after a slide in high-flying tech stocks that many analysts said was overdue.

AstraZeneca added 0.5 per cent following the weekend announcement that clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine will resume after a reported side-effect in a British patient.

The vaccine is seen as one of the strongest contenders among the dozens of vaccines being tested.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude oil for October delivery lost 9 cents to USD 37.17 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract fell 7 cents on Monday to USD 32.26. Brent crude oil for November delivery lost 11 cents to USD 39.50 per barrel in London. The contract dropped 22 cents in the previous session to USD 39.61.

The dollar edged down to 105.71 yen from Monday's 105.72 yen. The euro rose to USD 1.1886 from USD 1.1865.