World shares mostly gained on Monday at the start of a week that includes vital U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s final rate decision of the year.
Germany’s DAX was virtually unchanged, at 16,757.43, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 7,537.72. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,526.38.
The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average also lost 0.1%.
The Fed will will announce its next move on interest rates on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the U.S. government will report on U.S. consumer inflation.
Thursday will bring meetings of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, Norway’s central bank.
Currency traders watch monitors near the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. Asian shares were mixed on Monday after Wall Street touched a 20-month high, at the start of a week that includes essential U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s final rate decision of the year. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ahn Young-joon
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 0.8% to 16,201.49 and the Shanghai Composite added 0.7% to 2,991.44.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.5% to 32,791.80 and the Kospi in Seoul was 0.3% higher, to 2,525.36. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 7,199.00.
India’s Sensex was 0.1% higher and Bangkok’s SET added 0.2%.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 4,604.37, marking its longest winning streak in four years, following a better-than-expected U.S. job market report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite both gained 0.4%.
U.S. employers added more jobs last month than economists expected. Workers’ wages also rose more than expected, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly improved.
The strong data have kept at bay worries about a possible recession, at least for a while longer, and stocks of some companies whose profits are closely tied to the strength of the economy rallied.
Oil prices rose Monday to recover some of their sharp losses in recent weeks. a barrel of benchmark U.S. oil gained 24 cents to $71.47 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It’s still more than $20 below where it was in September.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 15 cents to $75.99 per barrel.
In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar rose to 146.22 Japanese yen from 144.93 yen. The euro was trading at $1.0769, up from $1.0761.
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