World Shares Rise as European Markets Open Higher

BANGKOK,— European stocks opened higher on Thursday, following a mixed performance in Asia after a retreat in Big Tech stocks on Wall Street.

Germany’s DAX increased by 0.7%, reaching 19,394.41, while France’s CAC 40 saw a 0.6% rise to 7,185.13. The UK’s FTSE 100 experienced a modest gain of 0.2%, closing at 8,290.37. Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average improved slightly by 0.1%, indicating a small recovery ahead of the U.S. market’s closure for Thanksgiving.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 had a 0.6% gain, climbing to 38,349.06, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.5% to 8,444.30. South Korea’s Kospi saw a minimal increase of 0.1%, reaching 2,504.67, after the Bank of Korea decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 3% in an effort to support the economy. Despite this rate cut, the Bank of Korea revised its growth forecast downward, estimating 2.2% growth for 2024, and further reducing it to 1.9% for 2025.

Conversely, Chinese markets encountered setbacks, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index decreasing by 1.2% to 19,366.96, and the Shanghai Composite index dropping 0.4% to 3,295.70 as investors took profits from recent gains.

Wall Street faced challenges with major tech companies like Microsoft and Meta dragging the market down. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq composite, which is heavily tech-focused, lost 0.6%. Similarly, the S&P 500 dipped by 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.3%. This pullback in tech shares was driven by investor worries about high expectations for corporate earnings amidst prevailing inflation concerns.

From an economic standpoint, the U.S. Commerce Department reported a solid annual growth rate of 2.8% for the economy in the third quarter, fueled by robust consumer spending and increased exports. However, recent earnings from major retailers have provided mixed results; department store chain Nordstrom experienced an 8.1% decline due to sales slowdown warnings, while Urban Outfitters surged by 18.3%, exceeding analyst predictions.

U.S. inflation figures also showed persistence, with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, favored by the Federal Reserve, rising to 2.3% in October from 2.1% in September. This uptick raises concerns that inflation is stabilizing near the Fed’s 2% target, leading to speculation about possible future interest rate cuts. The Fed has already started reducing rates after reaching a 20-year high earlier in 2023.

Crude oil prices experienced slight declines, with U.S. benchmark crude decreasing by 28 cents to $68.44 per barrel, while Brent crude fell by 26 cents to $72.04 per barrel. On the currency markets, the dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen, climbing to 151.90 yen from 151.12 yen, while the euro slightly dipped to $1.0547 from $1.0567.

As the U.S. market closes for Thanksgiving, trading volumes are lower, with many investors awaiting economic updates and central bank decisions that could influence market trends in the near future.

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