Wall Street inched modestly higher in holiday-thinned trading Tuesday, while Asian markets mostly advanced and European markets remained closed.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent before the bell and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1 per cent to kick off what’s expected to be a quiet, holiday-shortened week of trading.
Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb said Tuesday that it will acquire RayzeBio in a $4.1 billion deal, just days after buying Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion. Bristol Myers shares were flat before the bell, while RayzeBio shares doubled to $60.99, close to the $62.50 that each share will fetch in its acquisition.
Shanghai’s benchmark led losses in Asia on heavy selling of technology and computer chip-related shares as worries revived over trade tensions with the U.S. and other western countries.
A number of video gaming companies announced share buybacks to shore up prices after Chinese regulators issued draft guidelines on Friday that caused shares in game makers like Tencent and Netease to plunge. Hong Kong markets were closed Tuesday, so the impact of an effort by Beijing on Monday to cushion the impact of the new rules by voicing support for the industry and announcing the approval of more than 100 games was unclear.
The Shanghai Composite index sank 0.7 per cent to 2,898.88. In Shenzhen, where relatively more high-tech companies are listed, the A-share index lost 1.2 per cent.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.1% to 33,276.50. In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.1 per cent, to 2,602.59. Bangkok’s SET rose 0.4 per cent. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.8 per cent and the Sensex in Mumbai was up 0.3 per cent.
In other trading Tuesday, a barrel of U.S. crude gained $1.14 to $74.70 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed $1.23 to $80.03 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar was unchanged at 142.33 Japanese yen. The euro inched up to $1.1019 from $1.1017.
On Friday, Wall Street closed its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish following reports showing inflation is on the decline even as the economy appears stronger than expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent Friday. It’s less than 1% below its record set nearly two years ago and is in the midst of its longest winning streak since 2017. The Dow slipped less than 0.1 per cent Friday and the Nasdaq gained 0.2 per cent.