Global shares trade mixed as market focus turns from Nvidia to US economy
Global shares traded mixed Thursday as market attention turned to upcoming data on the U.S. economy after Nvidia reported its financial results.
France's CAC 40 edged up 0.4% in early trading to 7,607.05. Germany's DAX was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 18,798.50. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 8,361.47. U.S. shares were set to drift mostly higher with Dow futures up 0.4% at 41,345.00. S&P 500 futures stood virtually unchanged at 5,608.50.
Nvidia, one of several companies that have ridden a wave of enthusiasm over artificial intelligence developments, reported earnings Wednesday.
The results showed a strong profit, but Nvidia stock fell 2.1%, though it is up 153% for the year. The company is one of the most influential stocks on Wall Street, with a total market value topping $3 trillion.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped less than 0.1% to 38,362.53. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.3% to 8,045.10. South Korea's Kospi dipped 1.0% to 2,662.28. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% to 17,786.32, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.5% to 2,823.11.
Sentiment remained cautious even after the White House said Beijing and Washington will plan for a phone call in the coming weeks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden.
The White House statement said both sides would keep lines of communication open. Worries are growing lately about tensions over Taiwan.
Investors are looking ahead to Friday, when the U.S. government releases its latest data on inflation with the PCE, or personal consumption and expenditures report, for July.
Economists expect the PCE, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, to show that inflation edged up to 2.6% in July from 2.5% in June. It was as high as 7.1% in the middle of 2022. The rate of inflation has been easing steadily back toward the central bank's target of 2% since then, following the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes.
Wall Street and the Fed are trying to gauge the resiliency of U.S. consumers amid the squeeze from inflation and high borrowing rates. The central bank is expected to begin trimming its benchmark interest rate back from a two-decade high at its next meeting in September.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 21 cents to $74.73 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 15 cents to $78.80 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 144.56 Japanese yen from 144.44 yen. The euro cost $1.1109, down from $1.1122.
Source: Associated Press
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