Leading stock markets diverged Tuesday ahead of a slew of interest-rate decisions and earnings from big companies.
In New York, the Dow was up slightly at midday, the wider S&P was down slightly, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped ahead several big tech company reports.
In Europe, London fell initially before recovering, while continental exchanges mostly closed higher on faster-than-expected economic growth in the euro zone.
The Federal Reserve is expected to leave US interest rates unchanged when its policy-making committee meets Wednesday, and its post-meeting statement will be pored over for confirmation that it will lower borrowing costs in September as inflation falls, with the extent of that cut open to debate.
“Investors don’t expect a rate change when the meeting concludes tomorrow, but after June’s inflation metrics were softer than expected and with a job market that’s weakening, they have high expectations for a cut during September’s meeting,” said Joe Mazzola, a strategist at Charles Schwab.
Wednesday also sees the Bank of Japan make its own much-anticipated decision over interest rates.
The Tokyo stock market closed slightly up Tuesday, while the yen dropped versus the dollar.
London’s FTSE 100 index closed little changed amid some mixed British earnings and as traders awaited the Bank of England’s policy announcement Thursday, with analysts split on whether it will cut rates.
Shares in alcoholic drinks maker Diageo, owner of Guinness stout and Johnnie Walker whisky, dropped six percent after it reported slowing sales in some regions.
Standard Chartered shares rose six percent after the bank announced a share buyback along with strong half-year results.
Paris advanced following data showing the French economy expanded more than expected in the second quarter.
Frankfurt also rose despite data showing Germany’s economy contracted in April-June.
In New York, focus ahead of the Fed’s meeting will be on Microsoft as the world’s second-largest listed company publishes its latest earnings, noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets.
“The story appears to be similar for many of these big tech names, with traders on the lookout for signs that the vast sums of money being invested in AI has started to pay dividends,” Mahony said.
Markets had a rough ride last week after disappointing earnings from heavyweights Tesla and Google-parent Alphabet, which raised questions about the surge in tech giants that has helped power some indices to record highs this year.
And investors are steeling themselves for more reports this week from other titans, including Facebook-parent Meta, Apple and Amazon.
Starbucks earnings after the market closes in New York will be closely watched to judge consumer sentiment in the United States.
McDonald’s on Monday posted a rare sales decline that the chain attributed to low-income consumers eating elsewhere as they look to save money.
Oil prices extended Monday’s retreat on continued worries about demand owing to weakness in the Chinese economy.
“For now, concerns over the pace of economic growth, particularly in China and the US, have dampened prices,” said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation. “It’s just a question of where the sellers run out of puff.”
Key figures around 1540 GMT
New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 40,632.82
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,439.98
New York – Nasdaq composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 17,207.43
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,285.01 points (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,474.94 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 18,411.18 (close)
Euro STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 4,841.00 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 38,525.95 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 17,002.91 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,879.30 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0802 from $1.0826 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2827 from $1.2862
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.11 yen from 154.00 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.20 pence from 84.14 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4 percent at $74.76 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $78.66 per barrel
