Wall Street and European stocks mostly fell on Tuesday, as gains in Asia after a China central bank interest rate cut failed to carry over while Nvidia weighed on the Nasdaq.
All three major US indices retreated, with the tech-rich Nasdaq falling nearly one percent ahead of chip titan Nvidia’s results on Wednesday.
“Coming off the three-day weekend, the US equity market looks like it is having vacation-withdrawal symptoms,” said analyst Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com.
“There just isn’t much of a buying impulse at the moment in the broader market, as participants are in a wait-and-see mode,” he added.
Traders are anxious to see if there will be a buy-the-dip effort after Friday’s losses, and to see how the market responds to Nvidia’s earnings report, he said.
Equities on both sides of the Atlantic have repeatedly set record highs in recent months on expectations of interest rate cuts and blockbuster earnings by tech firms doped by enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
In Europe, the Paris stock market advanced, aided by solid results from industrial gas giant Air Liquide, but Frankfurt and London dipped.
Wall Street’s main indices were also lower after the three-day holiday weekend. US stocks closed last week out on a weak note after wholesale inflation topped estimates, denting hopes for a swift pivot from the Federal Reserve to rate cuts.
This week’s calendar includes policy meeting minutes from the Fed and European Central Bank, on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Chinese shares were buoyant after the Lunar New Year, leading gains in most Asian markets thanks to a holiday boost, although Tokyo stumbled on profit-taking.
Another stimulus step
“China provided a fresh boost to risk appetite… after the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced cuts in another step to the nation’s economic stimulus policy,” said ActivTrades analyst Pierre Veyret.
The PBoC announced it was lowering the five-year loan prime rate (LPR), used to price mortgages, from 4.2 to 3.95 percent.
Tuesday’s move was aimed at encouraging commercial banks to grant more credit and at more advantageous rates.
“This news… gave investors reasons to buy the dip while waiting for other crucial macro developments,” added Veyret.
The Chinese central bank’s effort marked the largest reduction since the key LPR was revamped in 2019, Bloomberg reported.
Oil prices fell as demand fears jostled with concern over potential disruption to supplies from the crude-rich Middle East.
Key figures around 2130 GMT
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 38,563.80 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,975.51 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 15,630.78 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,719.21 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,795.22 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 17,068.43 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,760.28 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,363.61 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 16,247.51 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 2,922.73 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0811 from $1.0779 on Monday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.00 yen from 150.13 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2648 from $1.2594
Euro/pound: UP at 85.63 pence from 85.58 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $82.34 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $78.18 per barrel
burs-jmb/bys
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.