Global benchmarks mostly decline as investors anticipate US rate cut
Apart from a likely rate cut, investors are waiting to see what the Fed will say about where interest rates will go after that. Inflation has remained above the Fed's 2 per cent targe
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: AP)
TOKYO: Global shares were mostly lower, trading in a narrow range ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting later on Wednesday that's expected to result in the third cut to interest rates this year.
France's CAC 40 slipped 0.3 per cent in early trading to 8,026.35, while the German DAX dipped 0.3 per cent to 24,081.63. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.1 per cent to 9,652.21.
The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1 per cent higher, and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.1 per cent to finish at 50,602.80. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped nearly 0.1 per cent to 8,579.40. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.2 per cent to 4,135.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4 per cent to 25,540.78, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.2 per cent to 3,900.50.
Taiwan's Taiex surged 0.8 per cent.
Lower interest rates can boost the economy and prices for investments, though they can worsen inflation. The US stock market has run to the edge of its records in part because of the assumption that the Fed will cut rates again.
Apart from a likely rate cut, investors are waiting to see what the Fed will say about where interest rates will go after that. Inflation has remained above the Fed's 2 per cent target, and Fed officials are split in their opinions about whether high inflation or the slowing job market is the bigger threat to the economy.
In other dealings early Wednesday, benchmark US crude rose 11 cents to USD 58.36 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 16 cents to USD 62.10 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 156.82 Japanese yen from 156.89 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1644, up from USD 1.1626.
