Stock market today: World shares waver as China-led rally fades

[September 25, 2024]  By ELAINE KURTENBACH

A brief China-led rally has faded, leaving shares in Europe and Asia mixed on Wednesday after a strong start that had extended overnight gains on Wall Street.

Markets had surged after Beijing announced a flurry of measures aimed at reviving the housing market after a prolonged downturn. That news also boosted prices for oil, copper and other commodities.

However, the cheer brought on by news of a coordinated effort to rev up growth in the world’s second-largest economy appeared to dissipate as the day wore on. U.S. futures and oil prices also fell back.

Germany's DAX lost 0.4% to 18,915.00 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.5% to 7,563.77. In London, the FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher, to 8,290.08.

The future for the S&P 500 was 0.2% lower while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%.

In Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7% to 19,129.10 after jumping 1.8% earlier in the day and gaining more than 4% the day before. The Shanghai Composite index was 1.2% higher at 2,896.31.

“Chinese policymakers are throwing everything they’ve got to fight off deflation and breathe life into growth. Will it work long-term? Who knows,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.2% to 37,870.26, while South Korea's Kospi sank 1.3% to 2,596.32.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 8,126.40.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks drifted to more records, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher at 5,732.93, the 41st all-time high for this year. Gains were tentative, though, and the index wavered up and down following a surprisingly weak report on U.S. consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to its own record set the day before, closing at 42,208.22. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% to 18,074.52.

The Federal Reserve's drastic turn last week in how it sets interest rate has buoyed markets. It’s now lowering rates to ease pressure on the U.S. economy after keeping them high for years in hopes of extinguishing high inflation.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange building is seen Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Inflation has eased substantially from its peak two summers ago and the main worry occupying investors is that a slowdown in hiring by U.S. companies may worsen.

A report released Tuesday showed U.S. households are feeling more worried about the job market. Their overall confidence level sank in September, according to the Conference Board, instead of rising like economists expected. That’s a big deal because spending by U.S. consumers is the heart of the U.S. economy.

One of Wall Street’s bigger winners was Smartsheet, which helps companies manage projects and automate workflows. It rose 6.5% after Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners agreed to buy it in an all-cash deal valued at $8.4 billion.

In the bond market, Treasury yields slipped following the weaker-than-expected report on consumer confidence. The 10-year yield fell to 3.73%, from 3.75% late Monday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed’s upcoming moves, fell to 3.53% from 3.59% late Monday.

Lower interest rates can give the economy a boost by making it less expensive to borrow money to buy a car, house or things on credit cards. They also tend to raise prices for all kinds of investments.

Nvidia’s jump of 4% was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500 index Tuesday. The chip company’s stock had sunk 27% during the summer on worries that its price had shot too high in the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. But lower rates dampen that criticism by a bit, and Nvidia has been rallying back since early August.

In early Wednesday trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil was down 24 cents at $71.31 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 21 cents to $74.26 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 144.01 Japanese yen from 143.23 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1188 from $1.1180.

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