World markets steady

On Tuesday world share markets were stable and the dollar held steady, as investors awaited U.S inflation data for more hints on the health of the world’s largest economy and when the Federal Reserve could start to reduce stimulus.

Concerns that inflation may prove more persistent than central bankers expect have kept stocks down so far in September after seven-months of gains, prompted by the global economy’s recovery from the COVID19 pandemic.

European shares were 0.1% lower, with luxury shares following their Asian peers down on worries about the spread of COVID-19 cases in China. MSCI’s world stocks benchmark was stable. In the U.S., futures, showed a slightly positive opening.

In Asia, China’s narrowing grip on its technology companies and a broadening liquidity crisis for the country’s most indebted developer again kept investors on edge. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.4%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.2%, with shares of developer China Evergrande Group falling to the lowest point since 2014 after it said it had appointed financial advisers to examine its capital structure.

China’s technology stocks are also being closely analyzed after authorities told the country’s tech giants to stop blocking each other’s links on their sites.

A fresh spike in COVID-19 cases in China’s southeastern province of Fujian also kept investors cautious. The National Health Commission said 59 new locally transmitted cases were reported for the 13 September, up from 22 infections a day earlier. All of them were in Fujian, bordered by Zhejiang to the north and Guangdong to the south.

Oil prices reached a six-week high on fears that another storm could affect output in Texas. U.S. crude was up 0.7% to $70.91 a barrel. Brent crude gained 0.6% to $73.96 per barrel. Gold was slightly lower. Spot gold traded at $1,792.8 per ounce.

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