London — Bond yields rose and Sweden’s krona stayed ice cool on Thursday as the country became the first to raise interest rates out of sub-zero territory, while world stocks drifted off this week’s record highs.
Wall Street futures pointed to a subdued start, while the pan-European index Stoxx 600 continued to dip in and out of the red, although Britain’s blue-chip FTSE index did manage to hold a 0.2% rise.The focus remained on the day’s big milestone — Sweden ending five years of negative interest rates. The krona stayed calm after the move, rising as much as 0.2%.
Economists now wonder how Sweden’s open economy will react and whether other central banks with sub-zero rates in the eurozone, Japan, Denmark, Switzerland and Hungary will consider following suit. Sterling rose 0.2% to $1.3104 after falling more than 3%. It had reached an 18-month high on December 13 after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party won a majority in a general election.
In Asia overnight, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3% and China’s stocks slipped for the second session despite trade optimism. Australian shares ended 0.3% lower, led lower by mining stocks.
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