Stock market today: World shares mostly decline ahead of rate decisions by central banks

[December 17, 2024]  By ELAINE KURTENBACH

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were lower in Europe after retreating in Asia as investors awaited decisions on interest rates by the Federal Reserve and other central banks.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.3% lower.

Germany's DAX edged less than 0.1% lower, to 20,306.22, while the CAC 40 in Paris edged less than 0.1% higher. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6%, to 8,210.20.

The Bank of England is expected to keep rates steady at a policy meeting on Thursday.

Bitcoin was trading at $107,262 after nudging closer to $108,000, according to CoinDesk. Its price has catapulted from roughly $44,000 at the start of the year on expectations that Trump will favor digital currencies.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2% to 39,364.68. But SoftBank Group Corp.'s shares jumped 4.4% after its CEO Masayoshi Son joined President-elect Donald Trump in announcing plans Monday by the Japanese technology and telecoms giant to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years.

Japan's central bank also is thought likely to keep its benchmark rate unchanged when it wraps up a monetary policy meeting on Friday. The Bank of Japan is very slowly raising rates after keeping its policy rate below zero for years to try to spur inflation and drive more spending and investment.

Chinese markets slid further, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index losing 0.1% to 19,773.60. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.7% to 3,361.49.

“In China, recent disappointing data continues to pressure domestic policymakers to intensify their policy stimulus to invigorate domestic demand,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

South Korea's Kospi sank 1.3% to 2,456.81 as authorities were pushing to summon impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his short-lived martial law decree of last week. The country's Constitutional Court began its first meeting Monday on Yoon’s case to determine whether to remove him from office or reinstate him.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 8,314.00. The Taiex in Taiwan fell 0.1% while the Bangkok's SET dropped 1.7%.

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

On Monday, U.S. stock indexes drifted in mixed trading.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,074.08 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2% to a record close of 20,173.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, giving up 0.3% to 43,717.48.

Broadcom leaped 11.2% to help lead the S&P 500 for a second straight day after delivering a profit report last week that beat analysts’ expectations thanks to the wave of enthusiasm about its artificial-intelligence offerings.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its last move on interest rates for the year. The widespread expectation is that it will cut its main rate for a third straight time, as it tries to boost the slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its target of 2%.

The question is how much more it will cut rates next year, and Fed officials will release projections for where they see the federal funds rate ending 2025, along with other economic indicators, once their meeting concludes. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will also answer questions in a press conference following the meeting.

Expectations for a series of cuts to rates by the Fed have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times so far this year and is heading for one of its best years of the millennium. The economy has held up better than many feared, continuing to grow even after the Fed hiked the federal funds rate to a two-decade high in hopes of grinding down on inflation, which topped 9% two summers ago.

In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil dropped 46 cents to $70.25 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, shed 31 cents to $73.21 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 153.83 Japanese yen from 154.14 yen. The euro fell to $1.0486 from $1.0513.

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