Stock market today: World shares are mostly higher as China begins major economic meeting
Shares are mostly higher in Europe and Asia as China's leaders begin a major meeting expected to bring fresh pledges of help for the world's second-largest economy
World shares were mostly higher on Monday as China’s leaders began a major meeting expected to bring fresh pledges of help for the world’s second-largest economy.
Oil prices gained more than $1 a barrel after the OPEC+ oil producing nations said they would extend production cuts until the end of the year.
No reason was given for the move, which came ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.41 to $70.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up $1.37 to $74.47 a barrel.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX slipped 0.1% to 19,228.81, while the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% lower to 7,401.11.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 8,199.56.
The future for the S&P 500 inched up 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%.
The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress is meeting this week and analysts were predicting the government may endorse major spending initiatives to boost the economy after two straight quarters of growth below the government's target of about 5% for the year.
“Markets are alive with whispers of a fresh stimulus package, setting expectations sky-high and creating a buzz that’s hard to ignore,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 20,567.52, while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 1.2% to 3,310.21.
Markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.6% to 8,164.60 and the Kospi in Seoul jumped 1.8%
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