Stock market today: World shares are mostly lower after US Fed cuts interest rates

Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — European markets opened higher on Friday while Asian shares ended mixed after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again to ease pressure on the U.S. economy.

Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1% to 19,362,32. In Paris, the CAC 40 edged 0.1% lower to 7,417.13. Britain’s FTSE 100 also fell 0.1%, to 8,132.48.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were virtually unchanged.

Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell as investors awaited much-anticipated steps by Beijing to rev up the slowing Chinese economy following a meeting of the legislature’s Standing Committee.

“If Beijing delivers, we might see a powerful rally ripple through the region as investors gear up for a fresh surge in market momentum,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Officials announced a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion), three-year plan to help local governments refinance their many trillions of debt that has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse of the property market.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased early gains, falling 1.1% to 20,728.19. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5% to 3,452.30.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 39,500.37.

Shares in Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp. plummeted 6% on Friday after the company on Thursday announced that it will dismiss 9,000 workers and slash its global production capacity by 20% due to falling sales and rising costs and inventory.

In South Korea, the Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,561.15, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 8,295.10.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, adding to its surge from the day before following Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged, while the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5%.

The Fed’s announcement that it was easing its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point caused few ripples in the market because even the precise size of it was so well anticipated by investors.

The central bank began easing rates in September and indicated more cuts were likely to come, as it focuses more on keeping the job market humming after helping get inflation nearly down to its 2% target. What’s less certain in the minds of investors now is how much Trump’s victory may upset the Fed’s plans.

Trump is pushing for tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation higher, along with the economy’s growth. Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.

For now, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, nothing is changing. “In the near term, the election will have no effects” on interest-rate policy, he said.

At this point, Powell said it’s still not clear what the policies will be after Trump returns to the White House.

“We don’t guess, we don’t speculate and we don’t assume,” he said.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond eased to 4.33% from 4.44% late Wednesday.

A report on Thursday showed slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits, though the number remains relatively low. A separate report suggested U.S. workers improved their productivity during the summer, which can help keep a lid on inflation, but not by quite as much as economists expected.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 89 cents to $71.47 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 88 cents to $74.75 per barrel.

The dollar fell to 152.61 Japanese yen from 152.94 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0770 from $1.0804.