Stocks rose in Paris, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Hong Kong but fell in Tokyo, London and Sydney. U.S. futures were flat and oil prices declined.The European economy contracted slightly at the end of last year and beginning of 2023, according to revised figures released Thursday that underline the impact of the loss of Russian natural gas and high inflation on consumer spending.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 0.9% to 31,641.27. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 7,099.70. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.2% to 2,610.85. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.3% to 19,299.18. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.5% to 3,213.59. Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.1%, while India's Sensex gave up 0.4%.
"While a higher growth reading may provide some room to consider a policy exit from the Bank of Japan, the central bank's stance could remain unmoved for now, with recent comments from the Governor Kazuo Ueda pointing to more wait-and-see," Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG said in a report. Wall Street is questioning which will come first: a recession or inflation falling enough to get the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates? Most traders expect the Fed to leave rates steady next week. That would mark the first policy meeting in more than a year where it hasn't hiked its benchmark rate, which is at its highest level since 2007. But the Fed may resume raising rates in July.
South Africa South Africa Latest News, South Africa South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: CTVCalgary - 🏆 26. / 68 Read more »
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »