Global stocks mixed after Wall St sinks on rate fears


PTI | Beijing | Updated: 07-02-2023 15:05 IST | Created: 07-02-2023 14:48 IST
Global stocks mixed after Wall St sinks on rate fears
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Global stock markets were mixed Tuesday as traders looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for clues to interest rate plans after Japanese wages rose and Australia's central bank hiked its key rate again.

London and Shanghai gained. Frankfurt, Tokyo and Wall Street futures declined. Oil prices rose.

Last week's unexpectedly strong US data on hiring and wages dampened hopes the Fed might decide it has succeeded in cooling inflation that is at multi-decade highs and can wind down plans for more rate hikes. During his appearance in Washington, Powell is “likely to repeat that inflation is still too high” and the “policy rate will have to rise,” said Rubeela Farooqi and John Silvia of High-Frequency Economics in a report.

Traders worry the Fed and other central banks might tip the global economy into recession to extinguish inflation. Some are counting on a US rate cut as early as late 2023 despite comments by Fed officials that borrowing costs will have to stay elevated for an extended period.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.3 per cent to 7,863.65. Frankfurt's DAX fell 0.4 per cent to 15,291.90 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.3 per cent to 7,115.76.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were off 0.1 per cent.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent and the Dow lost 0.1 per cent. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 1 per cent.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost less than 0.1 per cent to 27,685.47 after the government reported wages rose 4.8 per cent over a year earlier in December. That was close to a three-decade high as workers press for higher pay to keep pace with inflation.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 per cent to 3,248.09 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.6 per cent to 21,298.70. The Kospi in Seoul added 0.6 per cent to 2,451.71.

Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.5 per cent to 7,504.10 after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.35 per cent. The RBA said more hikes are planned to lower inflation that is at a 33-year high of 7.8 per cent to its target range of 2-3 per cent.

India's Sensex fell 0.4 per cent to 60,284.40. New Zealand and Singapore declined while Jakarta and Bangkok advanced.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which tends to track expectations for the Fed, leaped by an unusually wide margin to 4.47 per cent from Friday's 4.29 per cent and the previous day's 4.1 per cent The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, jumped to 3.64 per cent from 3.52 per cent late Friday.

Traders worry the Fed and central banks in Europe and Asia might be willing to tip the global economy into recession to extinguish inflation that is at multi-decade highs.

Friday's employment data showed the U.S. economy added twice as many jobs as expected last month despite higher interest rates. That is good for workers but the Fed worries wage gains will push up inflation. That fuels fears the U.S. central bank might push rates higher.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.65 to $75.76 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 72 cents to $74.11 on Monday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, advanced $1.62 to $82.61 per barrel in London. It added $1.05 the previous session to $80.99.

The dollar fell to 131.81 yen from Monday's 132.67 yen. The euro declined to $1.0716 from $1.0728.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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