World Stocks Mostly Lower

EghtesadOnline: Global stocks mostly fell Tuesday as investors monitored corporate earnings and further clues about the state of the world economy.

News ID: ۷۶۸۳۸۶

20 July 2016

Japan’s index jumped on a weaker yen and a Pokemon-powered rally in Nintendo shares. France’s CAC 40 was down 0.8% at 4,324 and Germany’s DAX shed 1% to 9,963. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.2% to 6,684. US stocks were poised for a subdued open, with Dow futures unchanged and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.2%, AP reported.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.8% after hitting its lowest level since July 12. The FTSEurofirst 300 was also down 0.8%, having closed slightly higher in the previous session.
Dutch chemicals company AkzoNobel dropped 5%. It beat analysts’ second-quarter earnings forecast, but warned that the currency volatility and deflationary pressures that overshadowed the results were set to continue.
Investors are anticipating a slew of events this week that they’ll assess to get a better read on the health of the world economy and what it might mean for stock markets, according to Financial Tribune.
The European Central Bank’s policy rate decision is Thursday, and while no extra stimulus is expected, the bank’s views about the economy could create volatility in markets.
Australia’s central bank, meanwhile, released minutes of its July meeting showing that officials downplayed the risk of Britain’s vote on leaving the European Union to the world economy while noting that inflation remained weak, which analysts believe could open the way for policy easing.

Mixed Results
Corporate earnings were mixed, with Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs beating forecasts in the second quarter of the year. Drug maker Novartis saw weaker profits, however, and Philip Morris missed investor expectations.
Earlier, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 1.4% to end at 16,723.31 as the market had a delayed reaction to the yen’s weakness after it reopened following a holiday.
Other Asian indexes slid, with South Korea’s Kospi losing 0.2% to 2,016.89, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sliding 0.6% to 21,673.20 and the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China shedding 0.2% to 3,036.60. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 5,451.30.
The dollar edged lower to 106.18 yen from 106.22 in late trading but was still hovering near its highest level in nearly a month. A weaker yen helps shares of Japan’s big export manufacturers. The euro dipped to $1.105 from $1.107. The Turkish lira was up slightly after the central bank there cut interest rates to help the economy in the wake of last week’s attempted coup. The country’s currency, however, remains far below the level it traded at last week.