Stock market today: Global stocks mixed ahead of US inflation data

[January 15, 2025]  By ZIMO ZHONG

HONG KONG (AP) — World stocks were mixed on Wednesday following Wall Street’s mostly positive performance before key U.S. inflation data that could influence the pace of market-boosting rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Germany’s DAX was up 0.2% to 20,311.39, and the CAC 40 in Paris was flat at 7,424.49. In London, the FTSE rose 0.8% to 8,263.60.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1% lower to 38,444.58.

The Kospi ended the day with a minor change at 2,496.81 after South Korean law enforcement officials detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday in connection with his failed declaration of martial law last month.

South Korea's unemployment rate reached 3.7% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest since June 2021, amid political uncertainty, the government reported.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.3% to 19,286.07 after media reported that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming economic team is discussing gradually ramping up tariffs in different phases. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.4% to 3,227.12.

Shares related to Xiaohongshu, the Chinese Instagram-style app, surged after it topped the Apple App Store chart in the United States, as U.S. TikTok users flock to the app amid the looming threat of a TikTok ban. Companies like Foshan Yowant Technology, a digital marketing firm, and Inly Media Co., an advertising company, both saw their shares rise by around 10%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 8,213.30.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,842.91 as three out of every four stocks in the index climbed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 42,518.28, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2% to 19,044.39.

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Stocks got a boost from a report showing inflation at the U.S. wholesale level wasn’t as high last month as economists expected. It’s an encouraging signal before a report coming later in the day, which will show how much inflation U.S. consumers faced at gasoline pumps, grocery registers and auto lots in December.

Stubbornly high readings on inflation and a run of better-than-expected updates on the U.S. economy have sent Wall Street into a weekslong rut, pulling it further from the dozens of all-time highs set last year. The fear is that all the strong data will convince the Federal Reserve to deliver less relief this year through lower interest rates.

The Fed has already hinted it’s likely to cut rates just two times in 2025, down from an earlier projection of four. Speculation is growing about whether the Fed may cut rates zero times this year.

Indexes drifted between gains and losses through the day in large part because of drops for several Big Tech stocks. Nvidia fell 1.1% and was the second-heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

The only stock to drag more on the market was Eli Lilly, which fell 6.6% after saying it expects to report weaker revenue for the last three months of 2024 than previously forecast.

CEO David Ricks said that last quarter’s 45% growth in Lilly’s revenue for its Mounjaro diabetes treatment, Zepbound obesity injections and other products in the incretin market wasn’t as big as expected.

In other dealings on Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 29 cents to $76.66 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 42 cents to $80.34 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 157.08 Japanese yen from 158.00 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0299 from $1.0309.

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