KEEPING SCORE: France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1 percent in early trading to 5,485.39, while Germany’s DAX was up 0.2 percent at 12,561.44. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent to 7,630.36. U.S. shares were set to be flat with Dow futures virtually unchanged at 27,078. S&P 500 futures gained less than 0.1 percent to 2,899.
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 finished at 22,813.47, up 0.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 percent to 6,304.70. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2 percent to 2,303.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2 percent to 28,333.14 after fluctuating throughout the day. The Shanghai Composite index inched down 0.1 percent to 2,777.98, adjusting from its gains the previous day.
TRADE DEAL: Asian economies generally benefit from trade deals that will encourage exports to the U.S. The Nasdaq composite index topped 8,000 for the first time after the North American Free Trade Agreement news, although the trade deal isn’t final. The U.S. still needs to reach an understanding with Canada, the third party in the accord.
THE QUOTE: “Risk sentiment continues to improve with U.S. markets bolstered by the … latest NAFTA progress, set to inspire Asian market higher into the session,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.
TOYOTA GAINS: Toyota Motor Corp. shares got a perk from the NAFTA news as the top Japanese automaker benefits from free trade. The manufacturer was also boosted by its announcement that it was investing $500 million in ride-hailing service Uber and will partner with it to build self-driving cars. Toyota was trading up nearly 2 percent in the morning session on the Tokyo Stock Exchange but settled at 0.9 percent higher in the afternoon.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 14 cents to $68.73 a barrel. It edged up 0.2 percent to $68.87 a barrel in the New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 4 cents to $76.25 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar inched down to 111.18 yen from 111.19 late Monday. The euro rose to $1.1684 from $1.1611.