BANGKOK (news agencies) — World shares were mixed and Chinese shares saw their worst day in six months Tuesday as investors showed scant enthusiasm for Beijing’s latest policy moves.
Germany’s DAX advanced 1% to 18.589.57 while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 7,636.05. In London, the FTSE 100 was less than 4 points higher, at 8,202.30.
The future for the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up less than 0.1%.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed nearly unchanged, at 39,594.39.
Chinese markets turned lower as investors remained skeptical over recent policy decisions. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.9% to 17,469.36. The Shanghai Composite index shed 1.7% to 2,915.37 in its biggest single-day loss in six months.
The domestic focused CSI 300 index slipped 2.1%.
Baosteel Iron & Steel Co. fell 2.9%. The company, the world’s largest steelmaker, announced Tuesday that it was buying Nippon Steel’s 50% stake in their joint venture, Baosteel Nippon Steel Automotive Steel Sheets, for 1.76 billion yuan ($242 million). The venture is approaching the expiration of its contract and demand for steel has weakened, prompting Nippon Steel to focus elsewhere, such as its contested bid for U.S. Steel.
China’s central bank cut two key interest rates by 10 basis points on Monday, moving to ease credit and pep up the economy, following a major policymaking meeting of the ruling Communist Party that focused on longer-term reforms.
The People’s Bank of China also reduced collateral required by its medium-term lending facility and also reduced the interest rate for its standing lending facility by 10 basis points to 2.7% for its seven-day loans and 3.05% for its one-month loans.
But the recent moves so far have not boosted markets in a mood for more aggressive short-term action to rev up the slowing economy.
“Size matters. And obviously, a 10 (basis point) cut is not particularly inspiring. Certainly, nowhere in the vicinity of ‘big gun’ stimulus, which is arguably what the economy needs,” Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.4% to 2,774.29, while the S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.5% to 7,971.10.
Taiwan’s Taiex surged 2.8% as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest maker of computer chips, gained 4.3%, rebounding from recent losses on renewed optimism over the promise of artificial intelligence.
In Bangkok, the SET fell 1%.
Reports on corporate profits and U.S. economic growth may hog the market’s spotlight this week. Analysts are expecting companies in the S&P 500 to deliver the strongest profit growth for the latest quarter since the end of 2021, according to FactSet.
Besides Alphabet and Tesla, dozens of other big U.S. companies will also report their latest quarterly results this upcoming week, including Coca-Cola, Ford and American Airlines.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1%, breaking a three-day losing streak. It was the first gain for the benchmark index since it set an all-time high on July 16.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.6% to 18,007.57.
Nvidia rose 4.8%, and other Big Tech stocks advanced. They had sputtered amid criticism they’d grown too expensive after rocketing so high and pushing Wall Street to records. Two of them, Alphabet and Tesla, will report on Tuesday how much profit they earned during the spring in a big test. Alphabet rose 2.3% and Tesla gained 5.1%.
Treasury yields mostly rose in the bond market after President Joe Biden said he won’t run for re-election. The move could cause the unwind of some of the market’s “Trump trade,” which took off after Biden’s weak performance in a debate last month raised expectations for a win by former President Donald Trump.
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