France's CAC 40 inched down less than 0.1 per cent to 7,312.73 in early trading, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.4 per cent to 16,134.01. Britain's FTSE 100 added nearly 0.1 per cent to 7,592.28. The futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.4 per cent.
"There is no doubt China and the U.S.A. need each other, and their relationship to be back on a more secure footing for mutually beneficial commercial reasons, as well as reducing the risk of actual conflict," Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities said in a commentary. The five year rate was lowered to 4.2 per cent in a move to help ease credit and encourage spending and investment to boost economic activity.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 inched up less than 0.1 per cent to finish at 33,388.91. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.9 per cent to 7,357.80. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.2 per cent to 2,604.91. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 1.5 per cent to 19,607.08, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.5 per cent to 3,240.36.Markets are also watching the direction of interest rate hikes.