New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks were mixed Wednesday, reversing some earlier declines, as traders nervously awaited earnings from US tech darling Nvidia and digested Federal Reserve minutes that signaled slower interest rate cuts ahead.
The minutes of last month’s Fed decision showed that officials had mixed views over the timing of cutting interest rates — but most members were more concerned about moving too early.
“The minutes continue to indicate that the Fed is very cautious on cutting rate too soon,” said Peter Cardillo from Spartan Capital. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.1 percent higher, as did the broad-based S&P 500. But the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3 percent, dragged down by Nvidia ahead of its earnings results for the fourth quarter. Shortly after the closing bell, the tech firm reported earnings results that beat expectations. The news pushed its share price more than seven percent higher in after-hours trading.
– Europe, Asia mixed –
In Europe, London was dragged lower by HSBC, whose share price plunged more than eight percent after the banking giant revealed a shock $3 billion impairment on Chinese activities.
In the eurozone, the Frankfurt and Paris stock markets edged higher, with the CAC 40 in Paris setting new intraday and closing highs.
Hong Kong and Shanghai markets jumped after Beijing’s latest measures to boost China’s stuttering economy.
The People’s Bank of China said Tuesday that it was lowering the five-year loan prime rate, used to price mortgages, from 4.2 to 3.95 percent — the largest reduction since the key rate was revamped in 2019.
World oil prices rose and the dollar climbed against the yen and the pound, while remaining unchanged against the euro.
“Markets remained skittish ahead of two major events that could have a significant influence over the direction of equities in the coming weeks,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at stockbroker AJ Bell.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is due to follow in the Fed’s footsteps and publish the minutes of its most recent meeting on eurozone monetary policy on Thursday. Like the Fed, the ECB’s release will be closely examined for clues on when it could start cutting interest rates as inflation cools.
– Key figures around 2110 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 38,612.24 points (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 4,981.80 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 15,580.87 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,662.51 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,812.09 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 17,118.12 (close)EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 4,775.31 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,262.16 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 16,503.10 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 2,950.96 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0817 from $1.0808 on TuesdayDollar/yen: UP at 150.24 yen from 150.01 yenPound/dollar: UP at $1.2630 from $1.2623Euro/pound: FLAT at 85.67 pence from 85.62 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $83.03 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $77.91 per barrelburs-rl/js/da/dw
