World shares rebound after Xi, Biden discuss troubled ties

World shares advanced Friday after US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with China’s Xi Jinping.

Benchmarks rose in Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was steady at 1.31% and US futures were higher. Crude oil prices rose.

Biden initiated the 90-minute call with Xi, which centered on discussing the way ahead for the US-China relationship. The White House said the leaders during the call agreed to engage “openly and straightforwardly” on issues where the nations are at odds and where there is agreement.

“President Biden and Xi’s phone call has spurred hopes of a thaw in US-China relations. That is ostensibly good for trade everywhere and spurred a decent rally in stocks across Asia,” Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

Investors appeared to take in stride a decision by the European Central Bank on Thursday to dial back some of its massive emergency pandemic support for the economy as the 19 countries that use the euro rebound from the coronavirus recession.

Analysts said investors were reassured by ECB head Christine Lagarde’s insistence that the shift was only a “recalibration” of existing stimulus — not a signal that pandemic support is being phased out.

Germany’s DAX gained 0.1% to 15,643.96 and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4% to 6,7089.48. Britain’s FTSE 100 picked up 0.3% to 7,047.34. Th future contract for the Dow industrials was trading 0.5% higher, while the future for the S&P 500 climbed 0.4%,

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to 30,381.84 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.9% to 26,205.91. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4% to 3,125.76. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.5% to 3,703.11.

Investors have been assessing the pace of economic growth amid worries that the rapid spread of the coronavirus delta variant will dampen consumer confidence and spending.

In New York, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, its fourth straight drop, to 4,493.28. The Nasdaq pulled back 0.3%, to 15,248.25.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 34,879.38.

Small company stocks fared better than the broader market. The Russell 2000 index gave up 0.60 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,249.13.

Fed officials have indicated they expect to dial back on stimulus measures by year’s end, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned Congress that she will run out of maneuvering room to prevent the U.S. from breaching the government’s borrowing limit in October unless the debt ceiling is raised.

In other trading, US benchmark crude oil rose 73 cents to $68.87 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up $1.16 to $68.14 per barrel on Thursday.

Brent crude rose 89 cents to $72.34 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 109.96 Japanese yen from 109.73 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1842, up from $1.1825 late Thursday.