The Japan Times - Geopolitical tensions buffet markets

Wall Street opened lower but European stocks rose in afternoon trading as investors prepared for German lawmakers to vote on a massive spending boost for defence and infrastructure.

Gold and oil prices climbed on fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israel launched its most intense strikes on Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas took effect.

Uncertainty ahead of a telephone call about Ukraine between Trump and Putin also helped boost the safe-haven metal.

The Frankfurt stocks index advanced 0.9 percent as the German government prepared to respond to concerns over the United States' wavering commitment to European defence.

"International investors, who have increasingly invested in German stocks over the past few months, are hopeful for a significant boost in fiscal policy," said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at trading group CMC Markets.

Paris and London stock markets also advanced.

Investors are eyeing this week's policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England, with all three forecast to stand pat on interest rates.

"A 'wait and see' approach is expected as the Fed grapples with the tough task of evaluating the impact of Trump's tariff chaos," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The US central bank's announcement comes also with updates to its outlook for the economy and interest rates this year, in light of Trump's trade measures as well as plans to slash taxes, immigration and federal jobs.

Asian markets rallied on Tuesday following another positive day on Wall Street stoked by US data that tempered concerns about a possible recession.

Hong Kong led gains thanks to further buying of Chinese tech firms including Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com.

Electric vehicle maker BYD was also a big winner, adding more than four percent -- having jumped more than six percent to a record at one point -- after unveiling battery technology it says can charge in five minutes.

Shanghai also rose, along with Tokyo.

Trading in Jakarta was halted as the market tanked more than seven precent -- its biggest intraday drop since 2011 -- on the worries about the Indonesian economy and weakening consumer spending heading into the Muslim Eid holiday period.

Shares in Google dipped 0.3 percent after the tech giant said it will acquire cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion, citing the need for greater cybersecurity capacity as artificial intelligence embeds itself in technology infrastructure.

Shares in Nvidia shed around one percent ahead of a major conference where it is expected to unveil new AI chips.

"This could set the direction for the next big move in NVIDIA's stock price, and thereby all those companies currently involved in AI development," said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.

- Key figures around 1330 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 41,762.67

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,651.63

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 17,667.32

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,712.02

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 8,106.84

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.1 percent at 23,412.68

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 37,845.42 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.5 percent at 24,740.57 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,429.76 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0919 from $1.0925 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.2970 from $1.2990

Dollar/yen: UP at 149.83 yen from 149.12 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 84.16 pence from 84.07 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $71.72 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $68.00 per barrel

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K.Nakajima--JT