Major European stock markets fell in Tuesday morning trading as investors tracked unemployment numbers and looked ahead to U.S. inflation data to be released in late trading.
Asian indexes closed at new highs on Wall Street, amid quiet trading as the region enters the Lunar New Year holiday.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin fell below $50,000 after surpassing Monday’s levels for the first time in more than two years.
Investment director Russ Mould said: “Markets are looking to maintain a holding pattern and second-guess inflation, manufacturing and “We were waiting for the next wave of GDP statistics.” At AJ Bell.
“The stronger-than-expected UK labor data didn’t help matters, effectively giving the Bank of England new reasons to keep rates on hold and not rush to cut rates.”
France’s official unemployment rate remained stable at 7.5% in the final quarter of 2023, revised official data showed on Tuesday.
Turning to the United States, traders said Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) readings in the world’s largest economy showed a continued downward trend, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. I hope that there will be room for this.
However, after policymakers warned that they wanted to see more positive indicators, there was some resignation on the exchange that a March interest rate cut was out of the question, and May was the first time U.S. borrowing costs were revised downward. So I’m leaning toward the view that I’m looking at it.
The CPI report is expected to fall below 3% year-on-year for the first time since March 2021, according to Bloomberg News.
Inflation expectations have fallen to the Fed’s 2% target this year, and expectations that the Fed will be able to ease monetary policy have been a major driver of market gains that have pushed the Dow and S&P 500 to multiple records this year. .
In Asia, most regions have returned to work after a long weekend. Tokyo markets led the gains thanks to a surge in shares of Japanese investment group SoftBank. This was boosted by another blockbuster day for US-listed chip design company Arm.
Arm’s value has nearly doubled in the past week and tripled since it went public in September, thanks to healthy demand for semiconductors fueled by an expected artificial intelligence boom.
Bitcoin soared above $50,000 on Monday for the first time since late 2021, as investors became optimistic that the U.S. approval to expand Bitcoin trading would boost demand.
Cryptocurrencies have been on a roll in recent months, boosted by hopes that U.S. lawmakers will approve the creation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track prices, allowing the public to invest in cryptocurrencies without having to buy them directly. It’s showing.
Bitcoin initially fell in response to the Washington government’s green light last month, but has risen about 25% since January 22.
– Main figures around 1045 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: down 0.2%, 7,557.15 points
Paris – CAC 40: down 0.3% to 7,667.59
Frankfurt – DAX: down 0.6% to 16,934.71
Euro STOXX 50: down 0.8% to 4,706.89
Tokyo – Nikkei Stock Average: 37,963.97 (closing price), up 2.9%
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Closed due to public holiday
Shanghai – Combined: Closed due to public holiday
New York – Dow: up 0.3% to 38,797.38 (close)
EUR/USD: unchanged on Monday at $1.0776
USD/JPY: Increased from 149.33 yen to 149.53 yen
GBP/USD: up from $1.2630 to $1.2664
EUR/GBP: down from 85.29p to 85.09p
Brent crude: up 1.1% to $82.86 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: up 1.0% to $77.64 per barrel
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