Stock market today: Global shares mixed as investors await debt ceiling vote, eye China economy


PTI | Tokyo | Updated: 30-05-2023 15:44 IST | Created: 30-05-2023 15:41 IST
Stock market today: Global shares mixed as investors await debt ceiling vote, eye China economy
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Global shares are mixed amid concerns over risks to the economic outlook in China and elsewhere.

France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 per cent to 7,273.34. Germany's DAX rose 0.3 per cent to 16,002.44, and Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.2 per cent lower to 7,615.05. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 per cent higher while that for the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent.

In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 per cent to 31,328.16. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1 per cent to 7,209.30. South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.0 per cent to 2,585.52.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2 per cent to 18,595.78. The Shanghai Composite gained less than 0.1 per cent, to 3,224.21.

Analysts say investors remain concerned about the a possible “second wave” of COVID-19 cases in China, although the economic impact is expected to be more limited than from the earlier pandemic wave.

China's recovery from virus-related disruptions during the past several years appears to be faltering, adding to worries over the regional economy.

“To say China's economic opening has been a disappointment could be an understatement, especially as reflected in local stocks that are now on the cusp of a bear market,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

World shares finished mostly higher Monday after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached agreement on a deal to raise the US national debt ceiling. Now Biden and McCarthy are working to gather votes needed to gain congressional approval in time to avert a default.

There are other concerns on top of the threat of the US defaulting on its debt. A key measure of inflation that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve ticked higher than economists expected in April. The persistent pressure from inflation complicates the Fed's fight against high prices. The central bank has been aggressively raising interest rates since 2022, but recently signalled it will likely forgo a rate hike when it meets in mid-June.

Markets are closely watching for US consumer confidence data set to be released later Tuesday.

In other trading, US benchmark crude fell USD 1.50 to USD 71.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, declined USD 1.66 to USD 75.44 per barrel.

The US dollar edged down to 140.17 Japanese yen from 140.44 yen. The euro cost USD 1.0725, up from USD 1.0711.

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

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