US equities inch up as markets yawn at Trump’s impeachment
Crude oil prices dip, dollar steady
BEIJING, Dec 19, (AP): Global stock markets mostly dipped Thursday after the US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump and the central banks of Japan and Britain kept their interest rates low.
The London stock index was up slightly while Frankfurt, London and Shanghai were little changed and Tokyo retreated. Wall Street futures were stable ahead of the open.
The House vote sends Trump’s case to the Senate for trial. Republicans who control the Senate say they plan to acquit him.
Trump is accused of abusing his office by pressing the government of Ukraine to investigate a potential political rival ahead of next year’s presidential election. He also is accused of obstructing efforts by Congress to investigate that allegation.
The outcome will be “greater polarization, and a rapid Senate dismissal of the charges made in the House, and then even greater polarization,” Rabobank said in a report.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up less than 0.1% at 7,541 and Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.6% at 13,148. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.2% to 5,946.
On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat.
The S&P closed up Wednesday less than 0.1% while the Dow dropped 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% to a record.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,017.07 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.3% to 23,864.85. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 0.3% to 27,800.49.
Seoul’s Kospi was off 2 points at 2,195.56 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 6,833.10.
The Bank of Japan left its shortterm policy rate unchanged at -0.1% and its target for 10-year government bond yields at 0%. The Bank of England also left its key rate unchanged, at 0.75%, as it monitors the impact of Brexit on the economy.
Benchmark US crude lost 3 cents to $60.90 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract declined 2 cents on Wednesday to close at $60.85. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 7 cents to $66.10 per barrel in London. It added 7 cents the previous session to $66.17.
The dollar held steady at 109.57 yen. The euro gained to $1.1133 from $1.1114.
US
US stocks crept higher in morning trading Thursday following encouraging profit reports from several big companies.
Trading around the world was mostly listless, as markets took a pause after a run higher in recent weeks. Stocks, bonds, gold, crude oil and a gauge measuring fear among traders on Wall Street all made only slight moves, if any, in the first day of trading after President Donald Trump’s impeachment by the House of Representatives.
Trump had warned months ago that his impeachment would roil markets, but traders say it has virtually no impact. That’s mostly because they see it as extremely unlikely that Trump or his market-friendly policies will leave office before the end of his term.
The S&P 500 was u p 0.2% as of 10:40 a.m. Eastern time. If it stays at the 3,196 level, it would be the sixth gain in the last seven days and another record high for the index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71 points, or 0.3%, to 28,311, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.3%. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks was up 0.1%, and slightly more stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange than fell. .
Trump became just the third US president to be impeached after the House voted Wednesday on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress in an investigation.
Trump, who has often reveled on Twitter when stock prices are rising, warned in October that “The Impeachment Hoax is hurting our Stock Market.” While markets certainly do like
Trump’s low-tax and light-regulation approach to the economy, investors say his impeachment means very little to the market.
A gauge measuring how worried traders are about upcoming swings for the S&P 500 was down 0.2% in morning trading.
That’s because traders see little chance of a Republican-controlled Senate voting to remove Trump from office. Even if the unlikely were to occur and Trump left office, investors see Vice President Mike Pence as unlikely to raise taxes or tighten regulations.
Conagra Brands surged 17 .7 % for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than Wall Street forecast due in part to sales of frozen and snack foods.
Micron Technology rose 2. 5 % after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its CEO also said it expects this quarter to mark “the cyclical bottom for our financial performance.”
Treasury yields held relatively steady as the 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to 1.93% from 1.92% late Wednesday. The two-year yield held at 1.62%, and the 30-year yield rose to 2.3 8 % from 2.35%.
Asia
Asian stock markets sank Thursday after the US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump and Japan’s central bank kept ultra-low interest rates unchanged.
Following a listless day on Wall Street, investors looked ahead to other interest rate decisions by central banks in Indonesia, Taiwan.
Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Southeast Asia retreated.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,010.73 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.3% to 23,868.82. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 0.5% to 27,747.22.
Seoul’s Kospi was off one point at 2,193.51 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 6,833.10.
India’s Sensex opened up 0.1% at 41,622.19 while New Zealand also gained. Taiwan, Singapore and Jakarta retreated.
The Bank of Japan left its short-term policy rate unchanged at -0.1% and its target for 10-year government bond yields at 0%.
The bank downgraded its view on industrial production but said it sees overseas risks as significant, a change from October’s statement that they were increasing.
Australia reported stronger-thanexpected November jobs numbers.
Australian employers added 39,900 jobs following a revised loss of 24,800 in October. Annual growth held steady at 2% over a year earlier.
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with small losses that left them just below all-time highs.
Losses in banks, industrial stocks, household goods makers and technology companies helped pull the market lower. They offset gains in real estate, communication services, health care and elsewhere in the market.