New York (AFP) – European and Asian stocks closed higher on Tuesday while Wall Street equities retreated as markets monitored US Treasury yields amid worries about the US budget deficit. Major US indices spent the entire session in negative territory as the S&P 500 finished lower after six straight positive sessions. “The main driver is a consolidation day,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. “The market has just been so red hot.”
US President Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he faces challenges to unify a House Republican caucus that includes lawmakers from high-tax Northeastern states seeking a bigger tax deduction and members who are worried about increasing the deficit. Investors have also been fixated on higher yields in the Treasury market. Moody’s highlighted the deficit last week in a downgrade of the US credit rating.
In Europe, London and Paris finished higher, and Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.4 percent to go past 24,000 points for the first time. Some of the rise stemmed from hopes of a European Central Bank interest rate cut next month, said Philippe Cohen, portfolio manager at Kiplink. Luxury clothing company Chanel waited until after Paris’s close to report a 28-percent drop in 2024 net profit.
Asian stocks closed mostly higher, with Hong Kong rising more than one percent, buoyed by China cutting its interest rates to historic lows, and Tokyo also up. The Chinese central bank move, which had been expected, comes as officials battle to kickstart the economy amid trade tensions with the United States and a persistent domestic spending slump. Elsewhere, the Australian central bank cut its key interest rate to its lowest level in two years, citing steady progress in bringing inflation under control.
In corporate news, billionaire Elon Musk said he was pulling back from spending his fortune on politics, and asserted the Tesla electric car company he runs was doing well despite blowback over his support of Trump. Aside from a Tesla sales decline in Europe, “we’re strong everywhere else,” Musk said. Chinese battery giant CATL ended its first day on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange more than 16 percent higher, having raised $4.6 billion in the world’s biggest initial public offering this year. A global leader in the sector, CATL produces more than a third of all electric vehicle batteries sold worldwide.
– Key figures at around 2030 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 42,677.24 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,940.46 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,142.71 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 8,781.12 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,942.42 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,036.11 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 37,529.49 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 23,681.48 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,380.48 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1284 from $1.1240 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3391 from $1.3361
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.47 yen from 144.86 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.26 pence from 84.13 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $62.56 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $65.38 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
