LONDON - World shares took a step back on Wednesday as signals that China has put broader stimulus on hold offset positive results from Credit Suisse, which kicked off the earnings season for European investment banks.
“The big picture is the tussle between Asia, which has pulled back, and America, where the markets made new highs, so Europe is probably going to be a bit torn between the two,” said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Aberdeen Standard Investments. It posted a net profit of 749 million Swiss francs for the first quarter of 2019 as larger-than-expected wealth management gains offset investment banking declines.Top performers on the STOXX 600 were payments company Wirecard and business software company SAP, which also boosted the DAX.
In Asia, the biggest regional loser was South Korea’s KOSPI, which fell 0.9 percent, with Samsung Electronics down 1 percent. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, edged down 0.1 percent in early European trade.Sri Lanka’s main stock index traded at its lowest since December 2012 following the deadly Easter Sunday attacks that killed more than 350 people. Analysts have said the country’s economy might need IMF assistance to overcome the devastation from the incident.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was flat at 97.644, near a 22-month high, following strong U.S. housing data.
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