BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were mixed yesterday.
London and Shanghai fell. Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong gained. Oil prices declined.
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.2 per cent 7,392.56 while the DAX in Frankfurt gained less than 0.1 per cent to 13,454.28. The CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1 per cent higher to 6,417.52.
On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index was up 0.2 per cent and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3 per cent higher.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.7 per cent after the Labour Department said American employers posted fewer job openings than expected in June following interest rate hikes to cool surging inflation. The benchmark is down nearly one per cent this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2 per cent, largely because of a tumble for Caterpillar, a maker of earth moving equipment. It fell 5.8 per cent after it reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than expected.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2 per cent to 12,348.76.
In Asian trading, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 per cent to 3,163.67 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 0.5 per cent to 27,741.90. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.4 per cent to 19,767.09.
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.2 per cent to 14,777.02.
The Kospi in Seoul advanced 0.9 per cent to 2,461.54 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.3 per cent to 6,975.90.
India’s Sensex lost less than 0.1 per cent to 58,158.34.
New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets rose.
Investors worry aggressive efforts by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to tame inflation that is running at multi-decade highs might derail global economic growth.
The Labour Department said on Tuesday that employers posted 10.7 million jobs in June, down from 11.3 million the previous month but still a relatively high figure.
Job openings, which never exceeded eight million in a month before last year, had topped 11 million every month from December through May before dipping in June. Some weak data on the US economy has added to suggestions the peak in inflation has passed but also indicates the risk of a recession is increasing.
In energy markets, benchmark US crude lost USD0.97 to USD93.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract rose USD0.53 the previous day to USD94.42. Brent crude declined USD1.07 to USD99.47 per barrel in London.
The dollar declined to JPY133.05 from Tuesday’s JPY133.17. The euro gained to USD1.0192 from USD1.0174.
