Stock market today: World shares are mixed after Wall St slumps despite strong US economic data

[January 08, 2025]  By ZIMO ZHONG

HONG KONG (AP) — Global shares were mixed on Wednesday after shares slumped on Wall Street despite better-than-expected reports on the U.S. jobs market and business activity.

The future for the S&P 500 was 0.2% higher and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%.

Germany’s DAX added 0.1% to 20,366.67 and the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% to 7,483.37. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat at 8,243.39.

In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.3% to 39,981.06. The U.S. dollar was trading at 158.25 yen, up from 158.06.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9% to 19,279.84 and the Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged at 3,230.17. Shares of Tencent fell 2.7%, and shares in CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker, dropped 1.7%. Both companies were included in a list released by the U.S. Defense Department linking them to China’s military.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 1.2% to 2,521.05. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.8% to 8,349.10.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 1.9%.

Stocks dropped as bond yields rose following the release of the encouraging reports on the economy. One said U.S. employers were advertising more job openings at the end of November than economists expected. The other said activity for finance, retail and other services businesses grew much faster in December than expected.

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

That's good news for workers looking for jobs and for anyone worried about a possible recession that earlier seemed inevitable to some. But a strong economy could also keep up pressure on inflation, and it could make the Federal Reserve less likely to deliver the cuts to interest rates that Wall Street loves.

The Fed began cutting its main interest rate in September to give the economy a boost, but it’s hinted a slowdown in easing is coming. The threat of tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump has raised worries about possible upward pressure on inflation, which has stubbornly remained just above the Fed’s 2% target.

Tuesday’s report on U.S. services industries from the Institute for Supply Management also contained discouraging trends on inflation, saying price increases accelerated in December.

Friday will bring an update on the U.S. jobs market, which economists expect will show a slowdown in overall hiring. They’re looking for growth of 156,500 jobs in December, according to FactSet.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 93 cents to $75.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 74 cents to $77.79 a barrel.

In currency trading, the euro cost $1.0326, down from $1.0341.

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