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Tokyo • Global stocks mostly rose and the dollar weakened on Tuesday as crude oil prices recovered following recent heavy losses.
KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent to 5,033 and Germany's DAX gained 0.1 percent to 12,068. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1 percent lower to 7,422. U.S. shares were set to advance with Dow futures trading up 0.1 percent and S&P 500 futures were 0.2 percent higher.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 34 cents to $48.56 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 39 cents to $52.01 a barrel in London. Both contracts had fallen in recent days amid reports that supply and stocks are high in the U.S., potentially offsetting the impact of an output trim by OPEC countries agreed on last year.
CURRENCIES: The pickup in the price of oil helped keep a lid on the dollar, which often moves inversely to the price of energy. The euro was up 0.6 percent on the day against the dollar, at $1.0809. The U.S. currency was roughly flat against the yen, at 112.57 yen. The pound jumped 0.8 percent higher at $1.2461 after high inflation figures in Britain raised the prospect of interest rate increases sooner rather than later. Higher rates tend to support a currency.
ASIA'S DAY: Earlier, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3 percent to finish at 19,455.88 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched down 0.1 percent to 5,774.60. South Korea's Kospi added 1.0 percent to 2,178.38. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent to 24,593.12, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.3 percent to 3,261.61.
JAPAN JITTERS: Shares came under selling pressure following a public holiday on Monday, as a weakening of the U.S. dollar against the yen added to worries over protectionist moves under U.S. President Donald Trump. The omission of the customary pledge to avoid protectionism from a statement by the Group of 20 major economies over the weekend underscored the challenges to free trade that have coincided with Trump's vows to rewrite trade deals.