Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press
2 hours ago
TOKYO (AP) — Global stock markets traded mixed on Wednesday as investors considered recent data highlighting a slowdown in the U.S. economy that has both positive and negative implications for Wall Street.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 7,966.52 and Germany’s DAX surged 0.6% to 18,516.05. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 8,249.33. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.2% and S&P 500 futures added 0.1%.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.9% to close at 38,490.17. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,769.00. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.0% to 2,689.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.1% to 18,424.96 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% to 3,065.40.
Australia’s economy grew 0.1 percent in the first quarter, data released on Wednesday showed, weaker than some analysts expected.
“This means the RBA faces a conundrum with growth trending downwards and inflation trending upwards,” Tim Waters, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said in a commentary about the Australian central bank.
Japanese workers’ cash earnings rose a better-than-expected 2.1% in May, and analysts say the latest data on Japanese wage growth will be more pronounced once the latest spring labor talks are concluded, increasing the chances that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, but more stocks within the index fell than rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2%.
If the Federal Reserve decides to cut interest rates, it would ease pressure on financial markets. The risk is that the economy could overshoot and slip into a painful recession, leading to layoffs across the country, weakening corporate profits and causing stock prices to fall.
A report on Tuesday showed that U.S. job openings at the end of April fell to the lowest level since 2021. But it follows a report on Monday that showed U.S. manufacturing contracted in May for the 18th time in 19 months. Worries about an economic slowdown have hit oil prices in particular this week, potentially slowing growth in fuel demand.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 24 cents to $73.49 a barrel, while the international standard Brent crude added 26 cents to $77.78 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 156.22 yen from 154.84 yen, while the euro fell to 1.0878 dollars from 1.0883 dollars.
