European markets opened higher Wednesday after Asian shares mostly declined

European markets opened higher Wednesday after Asian shares mostly declined, as governments were ramping up aid for economies reeling from the virus outbreak.

Shares

  • France’s CAC 40 gained 2.5% to 4,750.03.
  • Germany’s DAX rose 2.3% to 10,712.97.
  • Britain’s FTSE 100 added 1.4% to 6,043.49.
  • U.S. shares were set to open lower with Dow futures down 1.0 and S&P 500 futures 1.1% lower.
  • Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.3% to finish at 19,416.06.
  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 plunged 3.6% to 5,725.90.
  • South Korea’s Kospi shed 2.8% to 1,908.27.
  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 25,231.61, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.9% to 2,968.52.

Oil prices

  • Oil prices, which plunged 25% on Monday amid a price war between producers, have steadied in the past two days.
  • Brent crude, the international standard, fell 32 cents to $36.90 per barrel. It rose $2.86, or 8.3%, to $37.22 a barrel on Tuesday.
  • Benchmark U.S. crude fell 48 cents to $33.88 a barrel. It rose $3.23 to $34.36 a barrel on Tuesday.

Currencies

  • The dollar fell to 105.10 Japanese yen from 105.64 yen on Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.1323 from $1.1283.

 

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