Global stocks are mixed as data show China's economy slowing further
Send a link to a friend
[September 16, 2024] By
ZIMO ZHONG
HONG KONG (AP) — Global stocks were mixed on Monday after
U.S. stocks finished their best week of the year, approaching record
levels. The dollar dipped below 140 yen.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1% to 7,473.37, while Germany’s DAX lost 0.3% to
18,638.46. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower to 8,268.12 ahead of a
meeting of the Bank of England’s on Thursday.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were
both 0.1% higher.
In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng swung between gains and losses
during the day. closing 0.3% higher at 17,422.12 after data released
over the weekend showed China’s economy slowed further in August.
Factory output, retail sales, and investment failed to meet
expectations. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly surged to a
six-month high, adding to challenges.
“The drums of a deepening economic slowdown are beating louder, and it’s
time for China’s leadership to decide whether to step up or risk sliding
further into stagnation,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in
a commentary.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 8,121.60.
Markets in Japan, mainland China and South Korea were closed for
holidays.
Investors will also be closely watching the Federal Reserve’s policy
meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the central bank is expected to
announce its first interest rate cut since 2020. The Bank of Japan’s is
expected to leave rates unchanged in a meeting that ends Thursday.
In currency trading, the Japanese yen strengthened against the U.S.
dollar, which fell to 139.81 yen from 140.82 yen. The euro cost $1.1122,
inching up from $1.1076.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% for a fifth straight gain. It is just
0.7% below its all-time high set in July. Rallies for Microsoft,
Broadcom and other big technology stocks helped it claw back almost all
its recent losses, the worst in nearly 18 months.
[to top of second column] |
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei
index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on Sept. 9, 2024. (AP
Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7% and the
Nasdaq composite added 0.7%.
Stocks also got support from the bond market, where Treasury yields
eased ahead of the Fed's meeting. The unanimous expectation on Wall
Street is for the Fed to deliver the first cut to interest rates in more
than four years on Wednesday, and traders are rekindling hopes it may
offer bigger-than-usual relief.
The Federal Reserve has been keeping its main interest rate at a
two-decade high to slow the economy enough to stifle high inflation.
With inflation having eased substantially from its peak two summers ago,
the Fed has said it can focus more on bolstering the slowing job market
and economy.
The Fed faces a balancing act in cutting rates. Lowering them relieves
pressure on the economy but can also fuel more inflation. Reports
earlier this week showed some underlying upward pressure on prices. That
initially pushed traders to ratchet back expectations for the size of
the Fed’s upcoming move.
On Friday, though, traders were seeing roughly a coin flip’s chance that
the Fed could deliver a large cut of half of a percentage point, instead
of the more traditional quarter of a point, according to data from CME
Group. The federal funds rate is currently sitting in a range of 5.25%
to 5.50%.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 61 cents to $68.36 a
barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 51 cents to
$72.12 a barrel.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All
rights reserved
|