Global stocks mixed ahead of key US inflation data
(AFP)
NEW YORK – Global stocks were mixed Monday, with Wall Street mostly rebounding from a bad week as traders look ahead to government data that will tell whether US inflation has moderated.
Markets have been shaky of late amid signs the recovery has slowed, challenged by surging Covid-19 infection rates and signs of rising inflation, which could prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy sooner.
Analysts will scrutinize Tuesday’s report on consumer prices, which could either amplify or mitigate worries about inflation ahead of the Federal Reserve’s closely watched meeting later this month.
The Fed has argued that price increases are transient and do not require an abrupt shift in monetary policy, a view the market has largely accepted.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 finished higher, while the Nasdaq dipped. All three indices lost ground last week.
JJ Kinahan of TD Ameritrade noted that since corporate earnings season is largely over, “We’re going into this strange period, where you kind of have a lack of numbers.”
In that “no-man’s land,” he said, “the market is looking for anything to trade off.”
Elsewhere, Europe’s main equity markets advanced, while Asian markets were mixed.
Hong Kong led the losers, with tech firms again taking much of the heat on lingering concerns about China’s crackdown on the sector.
Market heavyweight Alibaba plunged more than four percent after Chinese regulators ordered sweeping changes to the country’s biggest payment app Alipay.
Alipay — with more than a billion users in China and other Asian nations — was told to spin off its profitable micro loan business, the Financial Times reported.
The firm’s parent company Ant Group is China’s biggest payments services provider and part of the Alibaba empire.
In other markets, oil prices rallied following an upbeat forecast from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on 2022 oil demand, while aluminmum prices reached $3,000 a ton for the first time in 13 years Monday.
“Soaring commodity prices show little sign of letting up,” noted Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG trading group, after crude climbed about one percent.
Key figures around 2040 GMT
New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent to 34,869.63 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 4,468.73 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.1 percent at 15,105.58 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,069.77 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.6 percent at 15,701.42 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 6,676.93 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 4,189.53 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 30,447.37 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 25,813.81 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,715.37 (clos)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1815 from $1.1814 Friday
Pound/dollar: FLAT at $1.3839
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.34 pence from 85.37 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 110.01 yen from 109.94 yen at 2100 GMT Friday
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.8 percent at $73.51 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $70.45 per barrel
