TOKYO (AP) – Global stock markets mostly fell on Monday as investors turned their attention to the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later in the week.
KEEPING SCORE: France’s CAC 40 was flat at 5,121 while Germany’s DAX shed 0.4 percent to 12,191. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 1 percent to 7,382. U.S. shares were also set to drift lower, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both down 0.1 percent.
FED FACTOR: The monetary policymaking body of the Federal Reserve wraps up two days of meetings Wednesday. At June’s meeting, Fed officials raised the central bank’s key interest rate for the third time in six months. The Fed also announced plans to start gradually paring its bond holdings later this year, a move that could cause long-term rates to rise. Over the last few weeks investors have focused what the European Central Bank will do as the European economy continues to improve.
U.S. POLITICS: A flurry of tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump, complaining that Republicans were failing to fully support him as they struggle to deliver on health care legislation, underscored the disarray in Washington amid investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible connections to Trump’s campaign.
THE QUOTE: “Investors continued to take into account Trump’s political setbacks including expanded investigation into his transactions regarding his Russian connections and limited progress in the health care bill,” says Zhu Huani, Singapore Treasury Division of Mizuho Bank, of the U.S. political uncertainties.