China stimulus hopes help stock markets rise
A person walks near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street in New York City. Global stocks advanced on March 17 on China hopes. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
NEW YORK – Global stock markets started the week on the front foot on Monday as investors welcomed China’s plans to kickstart consumption in the world’s number two economy, with upcoming central bank rate decisions also in focus.
Major Wall Street stock indices advanced for a second straight session, as US retail sales for February showed a 0.2 percent increase from the previous month, less than analysts expected but much better than January’s 1.2 percent decline.
The data was good enough to keep alive the market’s momentum from Friday.
READ: China retail sales edge up as officials eye consumption boost
“We’ve priced in a lot of the concerns on the trade war,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
Investors were keeping tabs on Beijing as officials were set to outline their plans to kickstart spending by the country’s army of consumers after years of post-Covid weakness, which has been a major drag on economic growth.
The plan looks to boost income with property reforms, stabilizing the stock market and encouraging lenders to provide more consumption loans with reasonable limits, terms and interest rates.
“Hopes that a new consumer life raft in China will buoy up the country’s prospects of recovery have helped lift sentiment slightly, but caution remains,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Officials were also looking at raising pension benefits, establishing a childcare subsidy system, and ensuring workers’ rights to rest and holidays are legally protected.
The move comes after data showed consumer prices dropped into deflation in February for the first time in a year, while producer prices continued to fall.
READ: Consumer prices fell in China in February
Hong Kong built on a blockbuster start to the year fueled by a chase into Chinese tech giants, while Shanghai and Tokyo also enjoyed healthy buying.
London, Paris and Frankfurt all advanced, tracking gains in Asia.
But investors are concerned that US President Donald Trump’s myriad trade wars could create the conditions for stagflation: high inflation, weak demand and high unemployment.
This week’s economic calendar includes policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England — and all are expected to keep interest rates on hold.
Alongside its rate decision, the Fed will release its summary of economic projections and outlook for borrowing costs this year, which comes as policymakers try to navigate the potential inflationary impacts of Trump’s tariffs campaign.
Gold was trading around the $3,000 an ounce mark on Monday, after it broke the symbolic threshold for the first time on Friday owing to a rush into safe havens as traders fret over Trump’s tariffs.
“A faltering US dollar and heightened risk aversion, courtesy of Trump’s latest trade brinkmanship, continue to drive demand,” said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
