HONG KONG (AP) – Global stocks were mixed yesterday, with the Japanese yen losing some of its gains after the latest United States (US) update on inflation bolstered Wall Street’s belief that relief on interest rates may come as soon as September.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1 per cent higher.
The US dollar lost 2.1 per cent against the yen overnight and traded as low as JPY157.43, fuelling speculation that Japanese authorities may have intervened to amplify the impact of the milder US inflation data. It regained some of its losses yesterday, rising to JPY159.12 from JPY158.80 yen.
Another key data release coming up is the US producer price index, while inflation readings for Germany, France, and Italy will also be released.
European markets started the day with gains. Germany’s DAX was up 0.3 per cent to 18,591.54 and the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.8 per cent higher at 7,689.42. In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.4 per cent to 8,254.06.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 2.5 per cent to 41,190.68.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.6 per cent to 18,293.38 and the Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged at 2,971.29 after data showed that China’s exports increased by 8.6 per cent in June, better than market expectations.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.9 per cent at 7,959.30. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.2 per cent to 2,857.00.
Elsewhere, Bangkok’s SET edged 0.1 per cent higher. Taiwan’s Taiex declined two per cent, with Taiwan Semiconductor losing 3.7 per cent.
The company earlier rose after announcing that its revenue climbed nearly 33 per cent in June compared with the same period last year, but followed Wall Street tech giants lower.
On Wall Street overnight, four out of every five stocks in the S&P 500 index climbed, though pullbacks for Nvidia, Microsoft and a handful of other highly influential companies masked that underlying strength.
Those giants have been the market’s biggest winners amid a frenzy around artificial intelligence technology, causing critics to say they had become too pricey, and they helped drag the S&P 500 down 0.9 per cent from its all-time high set a day before.
The drops for Big Tech stocks also pulled the Nasdaq composite down two per cent from its own record.
The drops broke seven-day winning streaks for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, rose 32 points, or 0.1 per cent.
