Global stocks are mixed ahead of the ECB monetary policy meeting
Global stocks are mixed on Thursday in anticipation of the European Central Bank monetary policy decision. Asian markets ended the session into the gree, while European and US stock futures cannot find a single direction.
Investors continue to monitor trade developments with US and Chinese negotiators set to meet next week. However, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told on Wednesday that the two nations still have a lot of issues to work out.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is set to announce its latest monetary policy decision, with traders speculating that President Mario Draghi could signal a September rate cut with a change in guidance on Thursday.
Asian markets recap
Most of the Asia-Pacific indexes ended today's trading session into the green amid a good performance of semiconductor manufacturers.
In China, the mainland index Shanghai Composite rose by 0.48% to 2,937.36 points. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng rose 0.25% to 28,596.55 points. Shares of technology giant Tencent rose by 1.64%.
In Japan, the blue-chip index Nikkei 225 advanced by 46.98 points, or 0.22%, to 21,756.55 points. Shares of SoftBank Group rose by 2%, while Advantest added more than 19% to its value.
South Korean index Kospi declined 0.38% to 2,074.48 points. The South Korean economy grew significantly in the second quarter due to higher government spending. Gross domestic product rose from April to June by 1.1% on the previous quarter, as the central bank announced on Thursday. The economists expected growth of only 1.0% after the fourth-largest economy in Asia shrank 0.4 percent at the beginning of the year. The GDP rose by 2.1% YoY, with estimates of an increase of 1.9%. LG Chem recorded a 4.5% drop in its stock price, while shares of chipmakers SK Hynix rose by 2.45% after the company announced it would shrink production. The shares of local competitor Samsung Electronics posted a 1.72% increase in value. The company announced that it intends to market its Galaxy Ford foldable smartphone in September. The device with a price of nearly 2,000 USD has been improved and has successfully passed the final tests.
Australian benchmark S&P ASX 200 added 41.30 points, or 0.61%, to 6,818 points. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said it was "sensible to expect an extended period of low interest rates". The bank regulator has significantly lowered interest rates in two consecutive months to record low levels.
European markets mid-session recap
European main stock markets rose at the start of trade on Thursday as market players speculated on a possible move on interest rates by the European Central Bank (ECB). The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.99 points, or 0.25%, to 392.72 points.
At its regular policy-setting meeting on Thursday, the ECB will discuss whether monetary conditions in the single currency area should be eased in order to kick-start sluggish growth and inflation. The expectations for a possible rate cut at the summer gathering have been heightened in recent weeks by the ECB itself talking up the possibility of action.
German index DAX 30 is down by 20 points, or 0.16%, to 12,514.51 points at 10:20 GMT. The stocks of BASF declined by 1.74% amid adjusting the EBIT targets for the year on the background of lower expectations for the global industrial and chemical output growth. The stocks of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank is up by 2.5% and 0.7%, respectively. The shares of the technology giant SAP is up by 1.6%. Carmakers are down with the shares of Daimler and Volkswagen declining by 1.6% and 0.5%.
French index CAC 40 edged higher by 16.14 points, or 0.29%, to 5,622.00 points. The stocks of Veolia Environnement is up by 0.6%, while STMicroelectronics declined by almost 1%.
British index FTSE 100 inched higher on Thursday to 7,503.49 points, as AstraZeneca stood out on a day of largely mixed corporate earnings, while mid-cap aerospace firm Cobham surged to a more than three-year high after a buyout offer. GlaxoSmithKline gained 1.5% after AstraZeneca’s report, and the pharmaceutical giants together helped the FTSE 100 shrug off steep, post-earnings losses in analytics provider Relx and software provider Sage Group. Shares of Aston Martin, which shed more than a quarter of their value after the luxury carmaker cut its 2019 volumes forecast in the previous session, fell another 8.3%, deepening its losses for the year to more than 42%.
Wall Street pre-session recap
Wall Street stock index futures were mixed on Thursday morning as investors gear up for a busy day of earnings.
Around 06:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures pointed to a gain of 24 points at the open, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are slightly into the red.
Last week’s jobless claims figures are due at 8:30 a.m. ET, along with June’s durable goods orders and advance economic indicators. Second-quarter housing vacancies data is due at 10 a.m. while July’s Kansas City Fed survey is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://financeandmarkets.com/global-stocks-are-mixed-ahead-of-the-ecb-monetary-policy-meeting/
No matter what people say, rate cuts are baked in the cake.