TOKYO – Global stocks mostly rose on Tuesday as investors kept an eye on potentially market-moving reports expected later this week.
France’s CAC 40 fell 0.2% in early trading to 8,052.68, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.3% to 18,062.63. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 8,170.81. US stocks were expected to fall, with Dow futures falling nearly 0.1% to 38,535.00. s&P 500 futures lost 0.1% to 5,141.00.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.2% to end at 38,405.66, returning from a national holiday. S of Sydney&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 7,664.10. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2% to 2,692.06. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.1% to 17,763.03, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 3,104.82.
In Japan, the government reported stronger-than-expected gains in industrial production, with a seasonally adjusted increase of 3.8% in March from the previous month.
“Weak industrial production weighed on growth in the first quarter of the year, but we think consumption should improve due to a healthy labor market,” said Min Joo Kang, senior economist at ING.
Markets are also keeping an eye on the US Federal Reserve, in addition to a series of earnings reports that show that about a third of S.&P500, including heavyweights Amazon and Apple, are reporting this week.
Reports of stubbornly high inflation have investors hoping for fewer interest rate cuts this year. The Federal Reserve announces its latest policy decision on Wednesday and could offer clues as to when rate cuts might occur. Its key interest rate is at its highest level since 2001. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell could offer more color at his press conference following the central bank’s decision.
Also on investors’ minds is the jobs report that hit Wall Street on Friday, which could show that hiring by US employers slowed in April and that worker wage growth remained relatively stable.
The hope on Wall Street is that the job market will remain strong enough to help the economy avoid a recession, but not so strong that it will fuel upward pressure on inflation.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 8 cents to $82.71 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3 cents to $88.43 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 156.87 Japanese yen from 156.28 yen. The euro cost $1.0702, down from $1.0725.
