Chinese Production Resumes, Lifting Stocks In Europe And US

A recently publicized factory data by Beijing has shown signs that the Chinese government’s efforts to restart the republic’s economy has produced some early and positive outcomes. The National Bureau of Statistics has found in its review that industrial production in China increased by 3.9% in April, marking the republic’s first rise since the start of the year. The increase exceeds analysts’ projected rise, which was set at 1.5%.

Following the release of those figures, early Friday trading saw stocks in the European market buoyed. France’s CAC 40 rose by 1%, Germany’s DAX by 1.3%, and London’s FTSE 100 by 1.3%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index saw an increase of 1.2%.

US futures also showed signs of picking up pace, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rising by more than 0.3% each, and Nasdaq by 0.5%.

These positive signals were later reversed, however, as news came out that the US government has plans in place to block microchip shipments to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, a move that has been predicted to escalate tensions between the two countries. As an immediate consequence of this development, the S&P 500 and the DOW slipped by 1.1%, with Nasdaq ending 1.4% in the red.

China’s own stock indexes also experienced little change, with the Shanghai composite finishing 0.07% down. In the neighboring nations in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi rose by 0.12% and Japan’s Nikkei by 0.62%, obviously unaffected by China’s industrial growth or trade war.