European shares ceded earlier gains in low-volume trading as some of the optimism around China’s property market stimulus ebbed.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 gauge closed little-changed after rising as much as 0.8 per cent earlier. The consumer, travel and leisure and mining shares — sectors with exposure to China — advanced. US markets are shut for the Labor Day holiday and futures for the S&P 500 index were flat.The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower, with futures at 4.31am AEST pointing to a dip of 23 points, or 0.3 per cent, at the open. The ASXon Monday. The RBA announces its decision at 2.
With Wall Street shuttered, European trading volumes were below their thirty-day average by almost a third, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk rose to a new record high, having just become Europe’s most valuable firm. Carmaker Mercedes Benz Group AG added 1 per cent after unveiling a new, longer-range electric vehicle.
Shanghai and Beijing are seen benefiting the most from authorities’ announcement on Thursday that lowered down-payment thresholds across the nation. The Hang Seng index jumped more than 3 per cent Monday before paring gains, while a Bloomberg gauge of Chinese developers jumped as much as 8.7 per cent.
Some investors are convinced the Fed won’t hike rates further this cycle, bets that were reinforced after last week’s jobs data. At the same time, this year’s US stock market rally is strong enough to withstand another leg higher for bond yields, according to the latest Markets Live Pulse survey.