AP – European markets opened lower while Asian stocks were mixed yesterday after United States (US) indexes drifted lower on Tuesday ahead of an update on US consumer inflation due later.
Germany’s DAX was little changed at 20,321.39, and the CAC 40 in Paris edged down less than 0.1 per cent to 7,391.99. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.3 per cent to 8,251.80.
The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1 per cent higher while that for the Dow was 0.1 per cent lower.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.8 per cent to 20,155.05 while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.3 per cent to 3,432.49 as Chinese leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year.
Earlier this week, top leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy during a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo. That’s the first move in 10 years away from a more cautious, “prudent” stance. Readouts from state media hinted at more robust stimulus to support the world’s second-largest economy, but analysts remained sceptical about any dramatic measures.South Korea’s market rose for a second straight day, recovering from last week’s political turmoil. The Kospi added one per cent to 2,442.51.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was little changed at 39,372.23 after data showed that Japan’s wholesale inflation in November rose 3.7 per cent year-on-year, marking three consecutive months of increases and adding to pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.
Japan’s central bank will hold a two-day policy meeting next week. Markets widely expect the bank to raise short-term interest rates from the current level of 0.25 per cent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.5 per cent to 8,353.60.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 per cent, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time high.
Those were the first back-to-back losses for the index in nearly a month, as momentum slows following a big rally that has the benchmark index on track for one of its best years of the millennium.
