TOKYO—World shares were mixed Thursday, with European benchmarks opening higher after a broad decline in Asia.
Oil prices fell by more than $2 a barrel ahead of a meeting of OPEC set for later in the day. Oil-producing nations are expected to decide on output targets in their first meeting since Europe set sanctions on Russian crude.
France’s CAC 40 gained 1.0 percent in early trading to 6,481.90, while Germany’s DAX added 0.8 percent to 14,454.96. Markets were closed in Britain for the Platinum Jubilee marking Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne. The future for the S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 percent and that for the Dow industrials gained 0.5 percent.
In China, strict COVID-19 restrictions are back in Hong Kong, while they are gradually being lifted in Shanghai.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent to finish at 27,413.88. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.8 percent to 7,175.90. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.0 percent to 2,658.99. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 1.0 percent to 21,082.13, while the Shanghai Composite reversed earlier losses, gaining 0.4 percent to 3,195.46.
Daily market swings have become routine amid worries that too-aggressive rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve may force the American economy into a recession. Even if it can avoid choking off the economy, higher rates put downward pressure on stocks and other investments regardless. High inflation is meanwhile eating into corporate profits, while the war in Ukraine and business-slowing, anti-COVID-19 restrictions in China have also weighed on markets.
The Fed has signaled it may continue raising its key short-term interest rate by double the usual amount at upcoming meetings in June and July. Speculation built last week that the Fed may consider a pause at its September meeting, which helped stocks to rise. But such hopes diminished after Wednesday’s manufacturing report from the Institute for Supply Management.
It showed U.S. manufacturing growth accelerated last month, contrary to economists’ expectations for a slowdown. A separate report said that the number of job openings across the economy ticked a bit lower in April but remains much higher, at 11.4 million, than the number of unemployed people.
Wednesday marked the start of the Fed’s program to pare back some of the trillions of dollars of Treasurys and other bonds that it amassed through the pandemic. Such a move should put upward pressure on longer-term rates.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.92 percent from 2.84 percent just before the report’s release.
Benchmark U.S. crude lost $2.56 to $112.70 a barrel. Oil prices rose 0.5 percent to settle at $115.26 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, shed $2.66 to $113.63 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar slid to 129.94 Japanese yen from 130.15 yen. The euro rose to $1.0695 from $1.0649.
