Hong Kong — Global stock markets were mixed on Wednesday despite gains on Wall Street as concerns grew about an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ukraine on Tuesday fired several U.S.-supplied long-range missiles at Russia, marking the first such use in nearly 1,000 days of war, according to officials. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially lowered the threshold for Russia to use nuclear weapons.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 8,108.45 after the Office for National Statistics reported that inflation rose to 2.3% in October. This is a sharp increase from September’s 1.7% rise. Germany’s DAX index rose 0.6% to 19,173.08 and the Paris CAC 40 index rose 0.5% to 7,268.87.
The future of S&The P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2% for a fourth straight month to 38,352.34 after the Japanese finance ministry said it had recorded a trade deficit in October. Exports rose 3.1% year-on-year as the weak yen and rising energy prices led to higher import costs. A trade deficit occurs when a country imports more goods and services than it exports.
Seven’s stock & i Holdings Co., which owns more than 80,000 7-Eleven convenience stores worldwide, said its founding family will raise more than 8 trillion yen ($51.66 billion) to take the company private within the financing. It surged 8.4% on Wednesday after local media reported the plan. Year.
China’s central bank announced that it would keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged after lowering the interest rate on one-year loans to 3.1% in October. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2% to 19,705.01, and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 3,367.99.
S in Australia&The P/ASX 200 was down 0.6% at 8,326.30. Korea’s KOSPI closed up 0.4% at 2,482.29.
On Tuesday&The P 500 rose 0.4% to 5,916.98 after paring off an early decline of 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite Index also shook off its early decline and rose 1% to 18,987.47, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 43,268.94.
Nvidia’s 4.9% gain accounted for most of the index’s gains. The chip company’s shares have rallied ahead of its latest quarterly earnings report due late Wednesday, boosting its gains for the year by nearly 197% thanks to the craze for artificial intelligence technology.
Concerns about the Ukraine-Russia conflict have sent investors flocking to U.S. Treasury bonds, considered one of the safest investments in the world. Rising prices have in turn pushed yields lower, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to 4.39% from 4.41% on Monday afternoon.
Gold also rose 0.6%, recovering some of the losses sustained following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. This is because investors have traditionally flocked to safer places during difficult times.
Walmart rose 3% after both revenue and earnings beat estimates. The country’s largest retailer said it saw broad-based strength across its categories, including sales made both online and in stores. It also said it increased its forecasts for full-year sales and profits as it serves more high-income households.
Lowe’s also delivered bigger profits and revenue than analysts expected in its most recent quarter, but its stock price nevertheless fell 4.6%. Construction crews broke ground on fewer new homes last month than economists expected, according to a morning report, sending shares of rival Home Depot down 0.9%.
Other large companies scheduled to report their latest quarterly earnings this week include Target and Deere on Wednesday. & company on Thursday.
In other trading Wednesday morning, benchmark U.S. crude rose 30 cents to $69.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 25 cents to $73.56 per barrel.
The dollar rose from 154.54 yen to 155.63 yen. The euro fell from $1.0598 to $1.0574.
