World stocks were broadly lower today following a charge on Wall Street that drove indices to all-time highs for the second straight day.
Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 7,127.10 and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.2% to 6,665.06. The DAX in Germany also fell 0.2% to 15,822.87 in early trading.
Wall Street was set for a mixed open. Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which hit record highs on Wednesday, fell 0.1% to 4,489.50 and 0.2% to 15,335.50, respectively. Dow futures added under 0.1% to 35,373.00.
At the top of watchlists is the Federal Reserve’s annual convention in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which begins Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the convention on Friday.
Traders are betting that Fed officials will remain in a wait and see mode regarding inflation, since most policymakers believe any inflation earlier this year would be temporary and the rise in COVID-19 cases has made some economists worried.
Fact is, markets dig perceptions of Jackson Hole shifting from a harbinger of tightening to assurance of digging in on accommodation as global economies digs out of the pandemic, said Venkateswaran Lavanya of Mizuho Bank.
In Asia, traders awaited more clarity on Chinese regulatory reforms and their impact on the technology sector.
Chinese technology stocks had rallied earlier this week as a share buyback by games and social media giant Tencent Holding Ltd. boosted sentiment. The firm’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 0.6% on Thursday.
After some renewed sentiments brought about by bottom-fishing from institutional investors and Tencent’s share buyback, investors may seem to be on hold for now as they look towards further clarity on the regulatory reforms, which is unlikely to conclude in the near term, Yeap Jun Rong of IG said.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.1% to 27,742.29 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 1.1% to 25,415.69. The Shanghai Composite also ended the day 1.1% lower, at 3,501.66.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.5% to 7,491.20. The Kospi in South Korea lost 0.6% to 3,128.53 after the country’s central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points, in a move that could quell rising household debt.
Shares rose in India, Singapore and Malaysia but fell in Indonesia.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude shed 72 cents to 67.64 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used as the price basis for international oils, dropped 61 cents to 71.64.
The dollar rose to 110.18 yen from Wednesday’s 109.98 yen. The euro retreated to 1.1765 from 1.1776.
