Global stocks are mostly up, all eyes on US Fed minutes
BEIJING: Global stock markets were back in positive territory on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to a speech by the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell for signs of possible plans for more US interest rate cuts.
Market benchmarks in London and Frankfurt rose in early trading. On Wall Street, the futures for the S&P 500 index rose 0.7% to 2,918 and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 26,085.
After a three-day run of gains, US stocks fell Tuesday after a slide in bond yields and a mixed batch of corporate earnings. Financial sector stocks led the declines.
Investors are now looking ahead to the Fed’s Wednesday release of notes from its policymaking meeting last month and a speech on Friday by Powell.
Markets have “entered a holding pattern” ahead of Powell’s afternoon speech at an annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a report.
Investors expect Powell to signal the Fed “is about to embark on a reinvigorated wave of easing,” said Halley. However, he said US data “simply does not support the need for an aggressive easing cycle.”
London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.1% in midday trading to 7,205 and Frankfurt’s DAX also climbed 1.1% to 11,784. France’s CAC-40 jumped 1.5% to 5,426.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.3% to close at 20,618.57. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.2% to finish at 26,270.04. The Shanghai Composite Index was little changed at 2,880.33.
Seoul’s Kospi gained 0.2% to 1,964.65 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 6,483.30. India’s Sensex lost 0.6% to 37,114.28.
Taiwan was higher and New Zealand was lower, while Southeast Asian markets were mixed.
The US market has been volatile this month as investors try to parse conflicting signals on the US economy and determine whether a recession is on the horizon. A key concern is that the US-Chinese tariff war will weigh on global economic growth.
Benchmark US crude gained 63 cents to $56.76 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract shed 1 cent on Tuesday to close at $56.13. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 96 cents to $60.99 per barrel in London. The contract advanced 27 cents the previous session to $60.03.