Stock market today: Global stocks are mixed ahead of US retail sales data
European markets slipped and Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday ahead of the release of U.S. retail sales data that could help sway a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates.
Germany’s DAX lost 0.6% to 18,475.67 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.8% to 7,571.83. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 8,144.13.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% lower.
In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.2% to 41,275.08 after reopening from a holiday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.6% to 17,727.98 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.1% to 2,976.30.
Markets were still digesting a set of weaker economic data of China released Monday, when the government reported that annual economic growth had fallen from to 4.7% in the last quarter from 5.3% in January-March.
This led some economists to cut their growth forecasts. Goldman Sachs revised its forecast for China’s annual economic growth to 4.9% from a previous estimate of 5.0%. JP Morgan cut their full-year outlook for China’s 2024 GDP growth to 4.7% from an earlier projection of 5.2%.
Investors are watching to see what policies might emerge from a four-day meeting of senior officials of China’s ruling Communist Party that is expected to set strategies and policies for the coming decade.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2% to 2,866.09 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.2% lower to 7,999.30.
On Monday, Wall Street’s positive momentum kept driving it upward.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, coming off its 10th winning week in the last 12, lifted in large part by expectations that inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to ease interest rates soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 40,211.72 and set its own record, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% and ended a bit short of its all-time high.
Some of the market’s strongest performing areas were ones that do best when former President Donald Trump’s chances for election improve. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Trump’s Truth Social platform, leaped 31.4%. Bitcoin rose above $63,000 after Trump, who has painted himself as a crypto-friendly candidate, survived an assassination attempt over the weekend.
Yields for longer-term Treasurys also pushed higher than shorter-term ones, and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.22% from 4.19% late Friday. Something similar happened after last month’s debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, when traders maneuvered in anticipation of a Republican sweep in November that could ultimately mean policies that would raise the U.S. government’s debt.
In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 65 cents to $81.26 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 60 cents to $84.25 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 158.45 Japanese yen from 158.07 yen. The euro rose to $1.0901 from $1.0894.