SINGAPORE—Airbus voiced optimism on Monday about sales of a new A350 freighter after Boeing launched a competing cargo version of its future 777X jetliner and said it was doing everything possible to shore up fragile global supply chains. Airbus launched the freighter version of its A350 wide-body jet last year to address rising air cargo…

TOKYO—Toyota Motor and Honda Motor were upbeat about their full-year profit prospects on Wednesday as tight vehicle supplies caused by a chip shortage allowed Japan’s two biggest automakers to charge their customers more. The Japanese carmakers are also benefiting from a weaker yen that raised the yen value of their overseas earnings. Toyota and Honda…

BERLIN—Investor morale in the euro zone rose in November for the first time since July as investors expected supply bottlenecks and higher prices to hold back the economy only temporarily, a survey showed on Monday. Sentix’s index for the euro zone rose to 18.3 from 16.9 in October. A Reuters poll had pointed to a…

U.S. stock indexes opened slightly higher on Wednesday, helped by a fresh batch of upbeat earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 78.55 points, or 0.22 percent, at the open to 35,835.43. The S&P 500 opened higher by 5.43 points, or 0.12 percent, at 4,580.22, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 40.29 points, or 0.26…

The Nasdaq led gains among Wall Street indexes on Wednesday after a robust forecast from Microsoft supported optimism about the third-quarter earnings season, while a decline in oil prices hurt shares of energy companies. The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled for direction in the first hour of trading, with seven…

LONDON/HONG KONG—Shares made slim gains around the world on Tuesday, with upbeat corporate earnings buoying European shares and outweighing recurring worries about China’s property sector. The broad Euro STOXX 600 hit its highest in seven weeks, adding 0.5 percent, with German stocks gaining 0.9 percent. After a stellar quarter for U.S. and British banks, Switzerland’s…

U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as an upbeat profit forecast from Johnson & Johnson added to the positive momentum in corporate earnings generated by big banks last week. Johnson & Johnson’s shares rose 1.7 percent after it raised its 2021 adjusted profit forecast, even as it stuck to its outlook of $2.5 billion…