Stock market today: Global shares mostly fall ahead of earnings reports
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[October 22, 2024] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly declined in cautious trading Tuesday
ahead of earnings reports around the globe, as Wall Street’s long,
record-breaking rally lost steam.
France's CAC 40 lost 0.3% to 7,516.20, while the German DAX rose 0.4% to
19,526.85. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 8,281.14. The futures for the
S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4% to finish at
38,411.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.7% to 8,205.70, while South
Korea's Kospi slipped 1.3% to 2,570.70.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.1% to 20,498.95 and the Shanghai
Composite rose 0.5% to 3,285.87 following a cut to interest rates that
took effect on Monday.
“The next two weeks are set to be a wild ride. Volatility has surged
across stocks, bonds, and currencies as investors brace for a perfect
storm of risks: a hotly contested U.S. election, critical interest-rate
decisions in both the U.S. and Europe, the looming threat of a wider
Middle East conflict, and the ever-present pressure of quarterly
earnings,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management said
in a commentary.
On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Dow dropped 0.8%. The Nasdaq
composite rose 0.3%.
Wall Street’s rally to records this year has been based on hopes the
U.S. economy can escape from the worst inflation in generations without
a painful recession that many investors had worried could be inevitable.
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A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's
Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Tokyo.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
With the Federal Reserve now cutting
interest rates to keep the economy humming, optimists hope stocks
can rise even further. But critics are warning stock prices look too
expensive given they’ve climbed much faster than corporate profits.
That puts pressure on companies to deliver growth in profits to
justify their stock prices, and more than 100 companies in the S&P
500 are scheduled to give details this week about their performances
during the summer. That includes such heavyweights as AT&T,
Coca-Cola, IBM, General Motors and Tesla.
The Bank of Canada will also announce its latest decision on
interest rates Wednesday, where it could cut by half a percentage
point.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 20 cents to $69.84 a
barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 18 cents to
$74.11 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 150.99 Japanese yen
from 150.69 yen. The euro rose to $1.0829 from $1.0819.
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