Stock market today: World shares are mixed as Britain reports lower inflation

[October 16, 2024]  By ELAINE KURTENBACH

BANGKOK (AP) — Markets in Europe and Asia were mostly lower on Wednesday after U.S. stocks pulled back from their records, dented by selling of technology and energy sector shares.

Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.6% to 8,299.96 after the government reported that inflation in the U.K. fell to 1.7% in September, its lowest level in more than three years. That reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates at its next policy meeting.

In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.6% to 7,473.90, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.4% to 19,414.56.

The future for the S&P 500 was flat, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% lower.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.8% to 39,180.30, leading the declines, as tech stocks fell after Dutch computer chip equipment supplier ASML warned of a slower recovery in demand for semiconductors outside of the AI boom.

Chip maker Tokyo Electron sank 9.2% and Lasertec Corp., which makes equipment to inspect chips, lost 13.4%.

In reporting ASML’s latest quarterly results, its CEO Christophe Fouquet said AI continues to offer strong upside potential, but “other market segments are taking longer to recover.” ASML’s stock traded in the United States fell 16.3%.

“Anxiety has also intensified with reports that the U.S. is considering new restrictions on chip exports to specific countries, particularly targeting Nvidia and AMD, citing national security concerns,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary. Traders are watching for an earnings report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., due Thursday. TMSC’s shares fell 2.3% on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4% to 8,284.70.

In Seoul, the Kospi shed 0.9% to 2,610.36, while Taiwan's Taiex slipped 1.2%. India's Sensex lost 0.5%.

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

Hong Kong's Hang Seng bounced between gains and losses and closed 0.2% lower, at 20,286.85, while the Shanghai Composite index edged less than 0.1% higher, to 3,202.95.

The central banks in the Philippines and Thailand cut their benchmark interest rates, moving to relieve pressure on their economies.

The SET in Bangkok rose 1.3% after the Bank of Thailand cut its main rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.25%, saying it intended to help alleviate the growing burden of household debt that has been weighing on the economy.

In the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas cut its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to 6%.

On Tuesday, Wall Street pulled back from its records, with the S&P 500 falling 0.8% a day after it set an all-time high for the 46th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%.

Exxon Mobil dropped 3%, and energy stocks fell to some of Wall Street’s sharpest losses after oil prices tumbled more than 4%. A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, has fallen back below $75 from more than $80 last week.

Crude prices have been weakening as China’s flagging economic growth raises concerns about demand for oil. At the same time, worries have receded about Israel possibly attacking Iranian oil facilities as part of its retaliation against Iran’s missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude, and a strike could upend its exports to China and elsewhere.

Oil slipped back into losses early Wednesday, with benchmark U.S. crude oil giving up 12 cents to $70.46 per barrel. Brent crude declined 11 cents to $74.14 per barrel.

In currency dealings, the dollar rose to 149.43 Japanese yen from 149.22 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0885 from $1.0892.

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