TOKYO (AP) – Global stock markets were muted Thursday ahead of U.S. economic data and possible policy announcements from Japan.
KEEPING SCORE: France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent to 4,389.46 in early European trading, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.1 percent to 6,826.21. Germany’s DAX fell 0.7 percent to 9,507.65. Wall Street was set to retreat, with Dow futures down 0.1. S&P 500 futures were also off 0.1 percent.
ASIA’S DAY: The Nikkei 225, the benchmark for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, inched down 0.5 percent to close at 15,459.86. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent to 24,683.43 while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.04 percent to 2,075.76. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 percent to 5,624.40. Markets in Thailand and the Philippines fell but Singapore shares rose.
US OUTLOOK: Revised data on U.S. economic growth for the April-June quarter is scheduled to be released later Thursday. But markets are more interested in employment data due for release the following week.
ANALYST TAKE: Hideyuki Ishiguro, strategist with Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo, said action was muted in the absence of market-moving news, and players looking to the release of U.S. employment data next week. “Players are also waiting for signs on how long the weak yen might last,” he said on NTV news. A weak yen is a plus for Japan’s exporters because it raises the value of their overseas earnings.