US stocks waver on Wall St ahead of Fed chair speech
Europe, Asia markets mostly higher
NEW YORK, Nov 30, (AP): US stocks wavered in morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday ahead of a speech by Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, on the outlook for the economy and inflation.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 10:14 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 167 points, or 0.5%, to 33,685 and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%.
Major indexes have been unsteady as the economy and financial markets deal with stubbornly hot inflation and the Fed’s attempt to cool high prices with aggressive interest rate increases. Still, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow are solidly on track to close out November in the green, which would mark their second straight monthly gain.
Treasury yields gained ground. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 3.79% from 3.75% late Tuesday.
U.S. crude oil prices jumped 3.3%.
Banks and industrial companies fell and weighed down the broader market. Bank of America slipped 2% and 3M fell 1.8%.
Markets in Asia and Europe were mostly higher. Investors will be closely watching a speech Wednesday afternoon by Powell at the Brookings Institution for clues as to what the central bank will do next in its fight against inflation. The central bank has raised its benchmark rate to 3.75% to 4%, up from close to zero in March.
Europe
Shares in Europe climbed higher at midday after a report showed that inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency eased for the first time in more than a year as energy prices retreated from painful highs. But the 10% rate, a drop from 10.6% in October, still hovers near a record that has robbed consumers of their spending power and led economists to predict a recession.
Britain’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 each added 0.8%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.4%.
Investors were also keeping tabs on China, where protests have erupted over the “zero-COVID” strategy that has confined millions of people to their homes, sometimes for months.
China has eased some controls after demonstrations in at least eight mainland cities and Hong Kong. It’s unclear if protests will start up again after authorities detained an unknown number of people and stepped up surveillance.
Renewed restrictions on businesses and other activity have hit manufacturing, with an official survey announced Wednesday showing the purchasing managers index falling to 48.0 in November from 49.2 the month before. The index is on a scale of 0 to 100 where readings 50 and above show expansion.
Asia
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.2% to finish at 27,968.99 after reports said industrial production contracted 2.6% in October, compared with 1.7% in September, amid weakening demand from China and other world markets.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.1% to 18,584.49. The Shanghai Composite index inched up less than 0.1% to 3,151.34. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,284.20, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6% to 2,472.53.
“Due to a more reflective approach to the recent zero-COVID measures, Chinese stocks have taken substantial leaps and bounds this week. However, that optimism is giving way to hawkish contemplation as traders twiddle their thumbs awaiting a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later Wednesday,” Stephen Innes, a managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a report.
Oil
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.67 to $79.87 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.72 to $85.97 a barrel.
Currencies
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 138.72 Japanese yen from 138.65 yen. The euro cost $1.0365, up from $1.0331.