Global stocks start the week lower, following the pullback in Wall St

BANGKOK

Global stocks were down on Monday after a retreat on Wall Street, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s next steps in its quest to tame inflation.

US futures were virtually unchanged as oil prices fell nearly $1 a barrel.

Investors await further action from the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise its key rate again on Wednesday as it strives to bring inflation down.

European stocks opened mostly lower, with the DAX in Germany down 0.3% at 13,219.67. The CAC 40 in Paris edged down 0.1% to 6,213.17, while Britain’s FTSE 100 also fell 0.1% to 7,269.58.

The outlook for Dow industrials was unchanged and that of the S&P 500 was down only a fraction of a point.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% to 27,699.25 and Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,403.69.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2% to 20,562.94, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 3,250.39.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged down 1.6 points to 6,789.90.

The Fed will likely announce its second straight 0.75% increase in its short-term rate, a big increase it hasn’t otherwise implemented since 1994. This will put the Fed’s benchmark rate in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. , the highest level since 2018.

The U.S. economy is slowing, but healthy hiring shows it’s not yet in a recession, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday. She spoke ahead of release this week on a series of economic reports that will shed light on an economy currently beleaguered by runaway inflation as interest rates rise.

The most high-profile report will likely be Thursday, when the Commerce Department releases its first estimate of economic output in the April-June quarter.

“While rising jobless claims, falling home sales and accumulating gasoline inventories show that the Fed’s frontloading rate hikes are causing a slowdown and bringing inflation under control, the question is at what price,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a comment.

Some economists forecast that it could post a contraction for the second consecutive quarter. The economy shrank 1.6% in the January-March quarter. Two consecutive negative readings are considered an informal definition of a recession, although in this case economists believe it is misleading.

Similar data out of Europe underscored weakness in the global economy as central banks raise interest rates. Higher rates make economic conditions more difficult and overly aggressive hikes could trigger a recession.

On Friday, the benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.9%, snapping a three-day rally that had taken it to its highest level in six weeks, but still gained 2.5% for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, while the Nasdaq fell 1.9%.

The company behind the Snapchat app fell 39.1% after reporting a worse loss and lower revenue for the spring than Wall Street had expected.

On Friday, the two-year Treasury yield fell again, to 2.98% from 3.09% on Thursday evening and from 3.14% a week ago, on worries about the economy. A report released Friday morning said business activity in the United States could contract for the first time in nearly two years, with service industries particularly weak.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 2.79% on Monday morning. On Friday, it fell to 2.76% from 2.91% on Thursday evening.

Along with an easing in Treasury yields, lower prices for crude oil and other commodities have also provided some relief on the inflation front, raising hopes that inflation may peak.

Early Monday, the U.S. benchmark crude oil was 90 cents lower at $93.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.65 on Friday to $94.70 a barrel.

Brent crude, the pricing basis for international trade, fell 85 cents to $97.53 a barrel.

The dollar rose to 136.34 Japanese yen from 136.05 yen on Friday. The euro fell from $1.0214 to $1.0217.