On Tuesday, global shares were mostly higher ahead of significant market-moving events, such as a U.S.-China summit and data releases in the U.S., Japan, and China. U.S. futures edged higher while oil prices also recorded modest gains.
This week, President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit in California. The face-to-face encounter comes after a year and is significant as the world’s two largest economies discuss important matters.
Investors are also waiting for an update on consumer inflation in the U.S. Economists expect consumer prices to show a 3.3% increase in October, a drop from September’s rate of 3.7%.
Market movements included France’s CAC 40 rising 0.3% and Germany’s DAX picking up 0.5%. The FTSE 100 in Britain edged 2 points higher. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1% and the S&P 500 futures edged 0.2% higher.
In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to finish at 32,695.93. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.8% and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost nearly 0.2% while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.
“Asian stocks gained ground as investors awaited U.S. inflation figures, hoping to confirm that interest rates have peaked. Meanwhile, positive geopolitical sentiments filled the backdrop as investors looked forward to anticipated talks between the U.S. and China,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
China is expected to release monthly economic indicators on Wednesday, and Japan will announce its latest growth numbers.
On Monday, Wall Street drifted to a mixed finish, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.1%. The Dow industrials gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%.
The U.S. budget politics and shutdown preparations are also on the agenda. The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a stopgap package to keep the U.S. government running into the new year and avert a federal shutdown.
With worries over whether growth will stay resilient as the full effects of rate hikes make their way through the system, investors are closely monitoring a potential continued decline in inflation.
The hope is that the decline will convince the Federal Reserve that no more rate hikes are necessary and might speed up the timeline for potential cuts to interest rates. Despite recent suggestions, the Fed will not hesitate to hike rates again if needed.
Elsewhere, benchmark U.S. crude oil added 14 cents to $78.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, also gained 14 cents to $82.66 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar slipped to 151.63 Japanese yen from 151.72 yen. The euro rose to $1.0714 from $1.0701.
