HONG KONG — European markets opened lower while Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday after U.S. indexes drifted lower on Tuesday ahead of an update on U.S. consumer inflation due later in the day.
Germany’s DAX was little changed at 20,321.39, and the CAC 40 in Paris edged down less than 0.1% to 7,391.99. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 8,251.80.
The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher while that for the Dow was 0.1% lower.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.8% to 20,155.05 while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.3% to 3,432.49 as Chinese leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year.
Earlier this week, top leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy during a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo. That’s the first move in 10 years away from a more cautious, “prudent” stance. Readouts from state media hinted at more robust stimulus to support the world’s second-largest economy, but analysts remained skeptical about any dramatic measures.
South Korea’s market rose for a second straight day, recovering from last week’s political turmoil. The Kospi added 1% to 2,442.51.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was little changed at 39,372.23 after data showed that Japan’s wholesale inflation in November rose 3.7% year-on-year, marking three consecutive months of increases and adding to pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.
Japan’s central bank will hold a two-day policy meeting next week. Markets widely expect the bank to raise short-term interest rates from the current level of 0.25%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.5% to 8,353.60.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time high. Those were the first back-to-back losses for the index in nearly a month, as momentum slows following a big rally that has the benchmark index on track for one of its best years of the millennium.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite also slipped 0.3%.
Wednesday’s update on consumer inflation and a report Thursday on inflation at the wholesale level will be the final big pieces of data the Federal Reserve will get before its meeting next week, where many investors expect this year’s third cut to interest rates.
The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to take pressure off the slowing jobs market, after bringing inflation nearly down to its 2% target. Lower rates would help give support to the economy, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation.
Expectations for a series of cuts through next year have been a big reason the S&P 500 has set so many records this year.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22% from 4.20% late Monday.
Even though the Fed has been cutting its main interest rate, mortgage rates have remained high. That has hampered the housing industry, and homebuilder Toll Brothers’ stock fell 6.9% even though it delivered profit and revenue for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations.
In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 21 cents to $68.80 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added 20 cents to $72.39 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 152.52 Japanese yen from 151.93 yen. The euro was trading at $1.0502, down from $1.0531.
