LONDON/SYDNEY – European shares and U.S. futures were little changed on Tuesday after Wall Street scaled record highs overnight, while oil prices dropped on a report that Israel will refrain from striking Iranian energy targets.
Chinese stocks, meanwhile, tumbled as a media report that detailed extra government borrowing to boost the economy appeared to underwhelm investors.
Europe’s STOXX 600 index fell less than 0.1% in early trading after rising on Monday, leaving it within 1% of a record high reached in September. Oil and gas stocks fell, but airlines rallied on lower energy prices.
Germany’s DAX stock index climbed 0.3% to a record high but Britain’s energy-focused FTSE 100 was down 0.4%.
Futures for the U.S. S&P 500 index were very slightly lower after the benchmark Wall Street gauge hit a record high overnight, led by chip stocks after a 2.4% jump in AI darling Nvidia and a brisk start to the third-quarter earnings season with JP Morgan and Wells Fargo beating expectations.
“New highs beget new highs and price momentum is the most powerful investment factor,” said Ben Laidler, head of equity strategy at Bradesco BBI.
“Super-sized tech stocks are taking the lead as they get ready to report the strongest earnings growth of all sectors again this quarter.”
Stock market investors have gained confidence thanks to U.S. data suggesting the world’s biggest economy is heading for a “soft landing” – with inflation falling back to the Federal Reserve’s target but growth remaining robust and the labour market cooling only slightly.
U.S. earnings season continues on Tuesday with banks including Citi, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs reporting, before a wave of big tech companies next week.
OIL AND CHINA SLUMP
Oil prices fell sharply, declining for a third straight session, after the Washington Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United States that Israel is willing to strike Iranian military targets and not nuclear or oil ones, as it prepares its response to air strikes this month.
Brent crude futures fell 4.2% to $74.19 a barrel, having dropped 2% overnight, with the market focused on China’s economic slowdown and lower OPEC demand forecasts.
China’s CSI 300 stock index fell 2.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid nearly 3.7% as investors were left wanting more details on Beijing’s stimulus plans.
Chinese media reported Beijing may raise an additional 6 trillion yuan ($850 billion) from Treasury bonds over three years to help bolster a sagging economy.
“Chinese shares have surged since the September politburo meeting on hopes that major fiscal stimulus may be on the way. A lack of details so far has disappointed some investors, so we eye policy announcements for more clarity,” analysts at BlackRock Investment Institute, led by Wei Li, said in a research note.
In currency markets, the dollar fell 0.4% to 149.17 yen, pulling back from a 2-1/2-month high of 149.98 overnight.
The euro was roughly flat, languishing near a 10-week trough. The currency has been pulled down by a growing gap between U.S. and European bond yields – which have stayed low as markets anticipate a third interest rate cut by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
U.S. Federal Reserve official Christopher Waller on Monday called for “more caution” on interest-rate cuts, while Fed Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said he also envisages more modest reductions.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were steady at 4.075% on Tuesday after bond markets were closed on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Harry Robertson in London and Stella Qiu in Sydney; Editing by Sam Holmes, Lincoln Feast and Ed Osmond)
