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Shares Mostly Lower in Europe, Asia 12/16 04:48
Shares retreated Tuesday in Europe and Asia ahead of the release of U.S.
employment and inflation reports that could drive the direction of interest
rates.
BANGKOK (AP) -- Shares retreated Tuesday in Europe and Asia ahead of the
release of U.S. employment and inflation reports that could drive the direction
of interest rates.
The future for the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial
Average was 0.3% lower.
Germany's DAX lost 0.4% to 24,142.20, while the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1%
higher, to 8,129.43. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% to 9,722.23.
In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined 1.6% to 49,383.29 as
preliminary factory data showed manufacturing slowing slightly. The S&P Global
Flash purchasing managers index rose to 49.7 from 48.7 in November on a scale
of up to 100 where 50 marks the cut off for expansion.
Investors are watching Japanese data carefully ahead of a Bank of Japan
policy meeting on Friday that is widely expected to result in an interest rate
hike that could rattle world bond, currency and cryptocurrency markets.
Chinese markets also retreated after figures for November, released Monday,
came in weaker than expected. Retail sales rose at their slowest rate since
2022, during the pandemic, at 1.3% from a year earlier in November. Lending and
investment also weakened.
"Overall, the data set confirms a loss of momentum into (the) year-end and
is consistent with our growth forecasts that moderating to around 4%" in the
last quarter of this year, Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank said in a report.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.5% to 25,235.41, while the Shanghai
Composite index lost 1.1% to 3,824.81.
South Korea's Kospi gave up 2.2% to 3,999.13 as technology shares dropped.
Computer chip maker SK Hynix skidded 4.3%, while Samsung Electronics fell 1.9%.
In Taiwan, the Taiex shed 1.2%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.4% to 8,598.90.
Shares in Roomba maker iRobot sank 22% in premarket trading after the
company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That was on top of a nearly
73% decline on Monday. The company know for its robotic vacuums has struggled
with increased competition but said it doesn't expect any disruptions to its
devices as it is taken private under a restructuring process.
On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, though the majority of stocks within
the index rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq
composite fell 0.6%.
Artificial-intelligence -related stocks, which were mixed following last
week's swings, helped keep gains in check.
Nvidia, the chip company that's become the face of the AI boom, added 0.7%.
But Oracle sank another 2.7% following its 12.7% tumble last week, its worst in
more than seven years. Broadcom fell 5.6%.
AI stocks have wobbled on worries that the billions of dollars flowing into
chips and data centers may not yield a big-enough payoff.
The main focus on Wall Street this week, apart from AI, will be several big
updates on the U.S. economy.
Economists expect the jobs report from November, due Tuesday, to show
employers added 40,000 more jobs than they cut during the month. An update on
inflation Thursday is forecast to show U.S. consumers paid prices that were
3.1% higher in November than a year before.
Investors are hoping that the job market will weaken by just enough to get
the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, but not so much that the economy
slips into recession. Lower rates help boost the economy and prices for
investments, but also may worsen inflation.
Economists expect Tuesday's report to show the unemployment rate at 4.4%,
which would keep it near its worst level since 2021.
In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $1.08 to
$55.74 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell $1.06 to
$59.50 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 154.84 Japanese yen from 155.21 yen. The euro rose
to $1.1760 from $1.1755.
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