Stocks were mixed and U.S. equity futures were steady as investors balanced further signs of China's reopening with cautious commentary from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting.
European shares pared declines, with a report showing euro-area producer prices fell more than expected in November. Declines in insurers offset gains in retailers after Next Plc raised its profit forecast. Contracts on the S&P 500 was little changed, paring losses of as much as 0.5 per cent earlier. Amazon.com Inc. rose in premarket trading after saying it will lay off more than 18,000 employees.
In Asia, a rally in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong equity gauges was helped by news the border with China will gradually reopen. Investors are looking to a private U.S. jobs report later today and nonfarm payrolls on Friday for clues on the labor market and its implications for monetary policy, after Fed minutes showed officials cautioned against underestimating their will to keep interest rates high for some time.
“No one talked about a rate cut in the foreseeable future, even though pricing in the market still shows that investors continue to bet that the Fed will start cutting rates before the end of this year,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. “Yes, there are some data pointing at slowing economic activity in the US, but the jobs market – which is closely watched by the Fed - remains surprisingly tight.”Elsewhere, crude oil rose after falling 9.5 per cent in the past two days.
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