Global stocks turn sluggish

Washington: Shares were mostly lower in Europe and Asia on Thursday after they barely budged on Wall Street following a mixed batch of earnings reports from big US companies. US futures and oil prices also declined. Germany's DAX slipped 0.9 per cent to 15,761.62 and the CAC 40 in Paris gave up 0.4per cent to 7,520.78. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.3 per cent to 7,877.39.

The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4per cent and that for the S and P 500 was 0.5 per cent lower. Japan reported that its trade deficit narrowed in March as exports rose more than expected, helped by a nearly 40per cent increase in the value of vehicle exports. But exports to China fell, reflecting the slow pace of the recovery from pandemic disruptions.

Growth in imports also slowed. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 0.2 per cent to 28,657.57 and Australia's S and P/ASX 200 was virtually unchanged at 7,362.20. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was unchanged at 20,365.84. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.5 per cent to 2,563.11 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.1 per cent to 3,367.03. On Wednesday, the S and P 500 inched down by less than 0.1 per cent, and the Dow industrials fell 0.2 per cent. The Nasdaq composite edged up less than 0.1 per cent.

Tesla weighed heavily on the market after the electric-vehicle company cut prices for its two top-selling models, its fourth price cut in the US this year. That could signal that Tesla is trying to spur sales amid shifting US tax credits for electric vehicles. Tesla fell 2 per cent before releasing its latest earnings report after trading closed. Netflix slumped 3.2 per cent after reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit topped forecasts. Elevance Health dropped 5.3 per cent despite reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected.