TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mixed Monday amid a wait-and-see attitude about the direction of interest rates and the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
France’s CAC 40 added nearly 0.2% in early trading to 5,376.03. Germany’s DAX fell less than 0.1% to 12,089.45. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose nearly 0.2% to 7,356.56.
U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.1% to 26,162. S&P 500 futures were also up 0.1% at 2,898.50.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 inched up less than 0.1% to finish at 21,124.00. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4% to 6,530.90, while South Korea’s Kospi edged down 0.2% to 2,090.73. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 27,227.16, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2% at 2,887.62.
Earlier this month, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell set off a market rally after he signaled that the central bank is willing to cut interest rates to help stabilize the economy if the trade war between Washington and Beijing starts to slow economic growth.
The Fed holds its next meeting of policyholders this week, but no action on rates is expected.
Economists expect Fed officials to wait until the second week of July to indicate whether they intend to cut rates, after seeing the next government report on the jobs market and other economic data.
Market watchers are also closely watching the results of the G-20 summit in late June, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet and try to negotiate a deal on trade.
“Sentiments around the ability to achieve a positive turn in U.S.-China trade negotiations, should the Trump-Xi meeting materialize at the sidelines of the G-20, remain tentative,” said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
“And the G-20 itself is merely a stage to kick the can down the road and a long, long way off a complete retraction of global trade tensions.”
ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil dipped 23 cents to $52.28 a barrel. It rose 0.4% to settle at $52.51 a barrel Friday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 17 cents to $61.84 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 108.59 Japanese yen from 108.23 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.1217 from $1.1263.
