TOKYO — Global shares were trading mixed on Thursday after the Federal Reserve opted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
Shares were mostly lower in early trading in Europe as leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations were gathering in Italy in the wake of the European Parliament election that saw a surge in support for the far right in places like France and Germany.
The G7 summit through Saturday is focusing on global conflicts, the spread of artificial intelligence and on African issues, with a view in particular to Italy’s longstanding concern about uncontrolled migration to Europe and human traffickers. Perennial issues such as climate change and China also were on the agenda.
France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4% in early trading to 7,834.47. Germany’s DAX dipped 0.5% to 18,537.80. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 8,191.88. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3% while that for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher.
In Asia, investors were turning their attention to a meeting of Japan’s central bank that ends on Friday. The Bank of Japan is not expected to raise its benchmark rate this time, though the economy is under pressure from the dollar’s prolonged surge against the Japanese yen.
“Given the recent ‘hawkish hold’ outcome from the Fed, if the BOJ were to stick to its usual accommodative tone in terms of policy settings, that may pave the way for the upward trend in the U.S. dollar to the Japanese yen to continue,” Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG, said in a commentary.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 157.29 Japanese yen from 156.71 yen. The euro fell to $1.0809 from $1.0812.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.4% to finish at 38,720.47. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 0.4% to 7,749.70. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.0% to 2,754.89. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained nearly 1.0% to 18,112.63, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.3% to 3,028.92.
As expected, the Federal Reserve kept its main interest rate steady on Wednesday following its latest policy meeting. And Treasury yields dropped after a report on inflation showed U.S. consumers paid prices that were 3.3% higher for food, insurance and everything else last month from a year earlier. Economists had been expecting to see the inflation rate stuck at 3.4%.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%, adding to its all-time high set a day before. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.5% and the Dow slipped 0.1%.
Lower inflation helps U.S. households struggling to keep up with fast-rising prices and also opens the door for the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate. Such a move would ease pressure on the economy and give a boost to investment prices.
In energy trading early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude lost 21 cents to $78.29 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 21 cents to $82.39 a barrel.
