(US) – European stocks faced a subdued opening on Tuesday following a day of losses in most Asian markets.
Germany’s DAX experienced a 0.4% decline, settling at 15,765.55, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.8% to 7,224.88. The FTSE 100 in Britain edged 0.1% lower to 7,442.85.
Futures for the S&P 500 displayed a 0.3% decrease, with those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.2%.
Asian markets witnessed Hong Kong’s benchmark plummet by 2.1% to 18,456.91 as investors opted to sell real estate shares after recent government interventions aimed at supporting the struggling property industry had boosted gains.
Stock movements in Asia and US market rebound
China Vanke suffered a 1.1% loss, while Country Garden Holdings dipped by 1%. Hong Kong-based Sun Hung Kai Properties also experienced a 2% decrease.
However, the Chinese services sector report failed to meet expectations, dampening hopes for a rebound in China’s lackluster growth.
A survey revealed that business activity in China’s services sector had expanded at its slowest pace in eight months. The Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.7% to 3,154.37.
Meanwhile, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index managed a 0.3% gain, reaching 33,036.76, and India’s Sensex climbed by 0.1% to 65,707.99.
The Kospi in Seoul registered a 0.1% loss, closing at 2,580.79, and Australia‘s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.1% to 7,314.30 after the central bank, as expected, maintained its key interest rate at 4.1%.
This marked the third consecutive monthly meeting with unchanged rates, recognizing a reduction in inflation.
Taiwan’s benchmark remained relatively stable, while shares in Southeast Asia saw declines.
In the US, the S&P 500 recorded a 0.2% rise on Friday, rebounding from its first monthly loss since February, as employment figures indicated a potential cooling of the job market.
This raised hopes of a potential moderation in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation.
The Labor Department’s report revealed that employers added a solid 187,000 jobs in August, up from July’s revised gain of 157,000.
Despite the increase, hiring slowed, with the economy adding 449,000 jobs from June to August, the lowest three-month total in three years. The unemployment rate also rose to 3.8%, the highest since February 2022.
Strong hiring and consumer spending have prevented an expected recession in 2023. However, they have complicated the central bank’s task of controlling inflation by fueling wage and price increases.
Market concerns that the Fed may need to maintain higher interest rates for an extended period, owing to the robust US economy, led to a pullback in the markets during August.
In commodity trading, US benchmark crude oil lost 32 cents to $85.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s electronic trading platform, following a $1.92 surge to $85.55 a barrel on Monday.
Brent crude, used as the international pricing benchmark, fell 74 cents to $88.26 a barrel.
Regarding currency trading, the US dollar rose to 147.00 Japanese yen from Monday’s 146.48 yen, while the euro slipped from $1.0796 to $1.0752.
