Global stocks mixed as Wall St snaps winning streak

Tokyo: Global shares were trading mixed Wednesday following a slipon Wall Street that snapped an eight-day winning streak, the longest of the year. In Europe, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.3 per cent to 7,505.17 in early trading. Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 per cent to 18,404.26, while Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1 per cent to 8,284.94. US shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.1 per cent at 40,998.00. S&P 500 futures were little changed, inching up slightly to 5,621.75.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 per cent to finish at 37,951.80. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 reversed course and rose 0.2 per cent to 8,010.50. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2 per cent to 2,701.13. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.7 per cent to 17,391.01, while the Shanghai Composite shed nearly 0.4 per cent to 2,856.58. In Tokyo, Japan’s Finance Ministry reported a 621 billion Yen ($4.3 billion) trade deficit in July, as surging global prices pushed imports higher, growing nearly 17 per cent from the previous year. Robust imports underlined better consumer spending amid rising wages. Japan’s exports also grew, rising 10 per cent, to destinations like the US and China. Market watchers have their eyes on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later this week at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Expectations aren’t high that he will announce anything dramatic now, with nearly everyone expecting the Fed to cut interest rates next month.