BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed Thursday ahead of a decision by the European Central Bank on interest rates that was expected to yield at least a quarter percentage point cut to the current 3.25% benchmark.
Analysts said the monetary authority for the 20 euro currency countries in the European Union was bound to act now that inflation has fallen to target levels and growth is slowing.
Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% higher, to 20,423.73, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up less than 0.1%, at 7,426.24. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 8,321.29.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%.
Chinese shares rose as leaders met in Beijing to set economic plans and targets for the coming year. The government announced plans to expand trial private pension programs to the entire country, beginning Dec. 15.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.2% to 20,397.05 and the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.9% to 3,461.50.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index advanced 1.2% to 39,849.14, led by buying of technology shares. Advantest Corp., which makes equipment for testing computer chips, gained 5.1%, while chip maker Tokyo Electron was up 0.6%.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6% to 2,482.12 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia slipped 0.3% to 8,330.30.
Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 0.6% and the Sensex in India shed 0.3%. The SET in Bangkok edged 0.1% lower.
U.S. stock indexes resumed climbing on Wednesday after an update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to break its first two-day losing streak in nearly a month. Big Tech stocks helped drive the Nasdaq composite up 1.8% to 20,034.89, its first close above 20,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, dipped 0.2%.
Inflation in the U.S. ticked up to 2.7% in November from a year earlier from 2.6% in October, fueled by pricier used cars, hotel rooms and groceries. That shows some price pressures remain elevated, but not enough to prevent the Fed from cutting interest rates at its meeting next week.
The Fed began trimming rates in September from a two-decade high to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation.
Expectations for a series of cuts to rates by the Fed have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times this year, with the latest coming last week.
Albertsons fell 1.5% after filing a lawsuit against Kroger, saying it didn’t do enough for their proposed $24.6 billion merger agreement to win regulatory clearance. A day earlier, judges in separate cases in Oregon and Washington had nixed the supermarket giants’ merger. The grocers contended a combination could have helped them compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, but critics said it would hurt competition.
In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 28 cents to $70.57 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 27 cents to $73.79 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 152.52 Japanese yen from 152.46 yen. The euro rose to $1.0518 from $1.0496.
