Global stocks higher after Wall Street fall, Brexit approval

Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets rebounded Thursday after Britain's Cabinet endorsed a plan to leave the European Union but the pound sagged after discord emerged with the resignation of the Brexit minister.

KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, London's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent to 7,071.60 and German's DAX advanced 0.5 percent to 11,473.84. France's CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent to 5,094.94. On Wednesday, the CAC 40 lost 0.7 percent, the DAX dropped 0.5 percent and the FTSE 100 shed 0.3 percent. On Wall Street, futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.5 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 percent to 2,668.17 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.7 percent to 26,103.34. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.2 percent to 21,803.62 and Seoul's Kospi advanced 1 percent to 2,088.06. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 3 points to 5,736.00. India's Sensex rose 0.6 percent to 35,339.44. Bangkok and New Zealand retreated while Taiwan and other Southeast Asian markets rose.

WALL STREET: U.S. markets were dragged down by losses for tech companies, banks and insurers. Apple Inc. lost 2.8 percent. Bond prices rose as traders shifted money into low-risk assets. That pulled yields down, which hurts banks by driving interest rates on loans lower. Energy stocks rebounded as crude oil prices snapped a 12-day losing streak. The S&P 500 and Dow both lost 0.8 percent. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.9 percent.

BREXIT: Prime Minister Theresa May persuaded the British Cabinet to back an agreement to separate from the European Union. May said the decision is a "decisive step" toward finalizing the exit deal with the EU, though it was unclear whether Parliament will go along. The deal would allow Britain to stay in a customs union while a trade treaty is negotiated. The Brexit minister, Dominic Raab, announced he was resigning because he couldn't support the agreement. The pound fell 1 percent after Raab's announcement, a wide margin for a developed country currency.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Despite the U.K. Cabinet backing the new Brexit draft plan, the boost for markets had been short-lived with the sea of worries overruling sentiment," said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report. Asian markets are "taking after the poor leads from Wall Street" due to "little data" due out in the region.

AUSTRALIAN JOBS: Government data showed employment rose by 32,800 in October, above market expectations for a gain of 20,000. The jobless rate stayed at 5 percent. The annual rate of job creation rose to 2.5 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 11 cents to $56.36 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 56 cents on Wednesday to close at $56.25. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 38 cents to $66.50 per barrel in London. It gained 65 cents the previous session to $66.12.