{"id":227957,"date":"2019-08-23T22:32:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T02:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=227957"},"modified":"2019-08-23T22:32:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-24T02:32:35","slug":"global-stocks-higher-ahead-of-us-fed-chairmans-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/08\/23\/global-stocks-higher-ahead-of-us-fed-chairmans-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Global stocks higher ahead of US Fed chairman’s speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Market benchmarks in London, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Tokyo all advanced. (File Photo By Katrina.Tuliao\/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BEIJING \u2014 Global stock markets rose Friday ahead of a closely watched speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman at a gathering of global central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.<\/p>\n

Market benchmarks in London, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Tokyo all advanced.<\/p>\n

Investors are looking to Jerome Powell’s speech Friday for hints as to whether last month’s first Fed rate cut in a decade likely marked the start of a period of easier credit. Two regional Fed presidents said they see no need for a change.<\/p>\n

Most investors expect a cut in September to shore up U.S. economic growth amid a tariff war with Beijing and weakening global growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarkets seem very clearly positioned for some very dovish guidance from Mr. Powell,\u201d Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a report. \u201cIt is a dangerous assumption to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

In midday trading, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 7,180 and Frankfurt’s DAX climbed 0.4% to 11,787. France’s CAC-40 gained 0.4% to 5,410.<\/p>\n

Wall Street pointed toward a slightly higher open, with the futures for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gaining 0.3% and the futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.2%.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, U.S. stocks gave up early gains and wavered through much of the day before closing mostly lower.<\/p>\n

Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting released Wednesday provided little clarity on the future course for rates.<\/p>\n

Esther George, president of the Fed’s Kansas City regional bank, and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said in televised interviews they see no need for another rate cut.<\/p>\n

George and Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Fed, dissented from the 8-2 rate cut vote, arguing that they favoured no rate cut at all.<\/p>\n

Investors predict a 91.2% likelihood the Fed will cut its benchmark rate by a quarter-point next month, according to the CME Group, which tracks investor bets. That is down from 98.5% the day before.<\/p>\n

Investors are worried that uncertainty over the U.S.’s escalating trade war with China could cause the economy to stumble, hurting corporate profits.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has imposed a 25% tariff on $250 billion in Chinese products. A pending 10% tariff on another $300 billion in goods would hit everything from toys to clothing and shoes that China ships to the United States. Some 60% of the new tariffs were postponed to mid-December and others taken off the table altogether.<\/p>\n

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.4 % to 20,710.91 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 2,897.43. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.5% to 26,179.33.<\/p>\n

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was up 0.3% at 6,523.10 and South Korea’s Kospi was flat at 1,948.30. India’s Sensex gained 0.6% to 36,683.32.<\/p>\n

New Zealand and Taiwan were up and Southeast Asian markets were down.<\/p>\n

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was close to flat at $55.36 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 33 cents on Thursday to close at $55.35. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 9 cents to $59.83 in London. It shed 38 cents the previous session to $59.92.<\/p>\n

CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 106.65 yen from Thursday’s 106.42 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1057 from $1.1082.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Matt Ott in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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