TOKYO—European shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after a mixed session in Asia, where selling of property and technology shares pulled Chinese benchmarks lower.
France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.4 percent in early trading to 7,281.99, while Germany’s DAX added 1 percent to 16,151.57. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.2 percent to 7,438.87. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent and that for the S&P 500 also gained 0.3 percent.
In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 0.3 percent to finish at 33,321.22. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent to 7,035.30. South Korea’s Kospi shed nearly 0.1 percent to 2,519.81. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.1 percent to 16,993.44, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6 percent to 3,021.69.
Food delivery company Meituan’s Hong Kong-traded shares dropped 12.2 percent after it forecast its revenue will fall in the current quarter.
Troubled property developer China Evergrande sank 10.4 percent following reports that its property services group was suing the parent company to recover deposit guarantees. Sino-Ocean Group Holding fell 6.9 percent.
Oil prices rose ahead of a meeting of OPEC members set for Thursday.
“OPEC+ is struggling to reach an agreement to extend production cuts, leaving the oil market in flux, Matthew Weller of Forex.com said in a report. ”While not the most likely scenario, a collapse in talks could take oil prices to multi-month lows.”
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 21 cents to $76.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained $1.55 to $76.41 a barrel on Tuesday.
Brent crude added 16 cents to $81.63 a barrel.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 edged up 0.1 percent. It is on track to close out November with its strongest monthly gain of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq composite eked out a 0.3 percent gain.
Consumer confidence remains strong heading into the holiday shopping season. The Conference Board’s November consumer confidence survey released Tuesday topped analysts’ forecasts. Consumer spending accounts for around 70 percent of U.S. economic activity and it has remained a bulwark against slower economic growth.
On Thursday the government releases its October data on the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. Economists expect that measure to continue easing, as it has been since the middle of 2022. The loosening grip from inflation and a resilient economy have raised hopes that the Fed might finally be finished with raising its benchmark interest rate.
The Federal Reserve will meet again in December to update its interest rate policy. The central bank had been raising rates to push inflation back down to 2 percent and has been closing in on that goal. The central bank has been working to lower rates while trying to avoid a recession in what is referred to as a “soft landing” for the economy. The latest economic data adds to hopes for that outcome.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.29 percent early Wednesday, down from 4.39 percent late Monday. That is pressuring the dollar, which fell to 147.54 Japanese yen. It had been trading near 150 yen for weeks. The euro fell to $1.0976 from $1.0992.
