Global stocks mostly rose Monday as investors looked ahead to key policy meetings by the central banks of the United States and Japan this week.
KEEPING SCORE: France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6 percent to 4,408, while Germany’s DAX added 0.9 percent to 10,238. Britain’s FTSE 100 inched down 0.1 percent to 6,725. U.S. shares were also set for a subdued open, with Dow futures adding 0.2 percent and S&P 500 futures flat.
CENTRAL BANKS: The Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve are both meeting this week. With Japan’s economy barely growing, economists are speculating about whether its central bank may push more stimulus this week. The U.S. economy is in better shape than other advanced economies, and expectations are that the Fed could look to raise interest rates again coming months. If it highlights the recent better-than-expected economic reports, economists may move up their predictions for when the next rate hike could happen. The Fed pulled rates off their record low in December but has held pat since then.
ANALYST VIEW: Marc Ostwald, analyst at ADM Investor Services, says the Fed will likely be in “wait and see” mode as it assesses the economic and market impact of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. He said it will be “particularly interesting to see how they reference the solid run of [economic] data in terms of the policy outlook,” as it could mean they consider a rate increase as soon as September.
GLOBAL MEETING: Over the weekend, envoys of the Group of 20 major economies, meeting in China, promised to protect the world economy from the shockwaves of Britain’s decision to leave the EU and to boost sluggish growth, while rejecting trade protectionism. While the statement was short of concrete promises, the tone seemed to have reassured some investors at a time of heightened uncertainty.
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 inched down 0.04 percent to finish at 16,620.29. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1 percent to 2,012.32. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1 percent higher to 21,993.44, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching up 0.1 percent to 3,015.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 percent to 5,533.60.
ENERGY: The price of U.S. crude fell 29 cents to $43.90 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, slipped 29 cents to $45.40 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar ticked up to 106.30 yen from 105.87 late last week in Asia. The euro dipped to $1.0986 from $1.1022.
