Wall Street's main indexes opened higher today as optimism about an imminent interest-rate cut by the US Federal Reserve boosted sentiment in the final trading session of a week that saw volatility due to the US government shutdown.
The Dow Jones rose 64 points (0.14%) at the open to stand at 46,584, while the S&P 500 gained seven points (0.1%) to trade at 6,722 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 42 points (0.2%) to reach 22,886.
European markets were seeing mixed trade this afternoon with London's FTSE index gaining 44 points (0.4%) to stand at 9,472 by 2.40pm on the back of gains in financials and miners. But the Paris CAC dipped seven points (0.09%) lower to trade at 8,049 and the Frankfurt DAX was down 52 points (0.2%) to reach 24,370.
Dublin's ISEQ index was also lower this morning, slipping five points (0.05%) to hit 11,700. Shares in Kerry Group were down 1.3% to stand at €75.35, while Glenveagh Properties shed 1.3% to trade at €1.88. Shares in PTSB lost 1.3% to reach €2.17 and Uniphar fell 0.9% to hit €3.84.
Earlier in Asian trade, Tokyo's Nikkei index closed 833 points (1.8%) higher at 45,769 - an all-time closing high - as euphoria around artificial intelligence gripped the market, sending chip stocks surging. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 146 points (0.5%) to finish at 27,141 as investors locked in gains after the benchmark index hit a new four-year high in the previous session.
