TOKYO (AP) โ Global stocks traded mostly lower on Thursday after Wall Street recouped some losses from the previous day.
France's CAC 40 fell almost 0.3% in early trading to 7,933.56. Germany's DAX fell 0.4% to 17,653.05. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 7,651.10. US stocks were expected to fall with Dow futures falling 0.2% to 38,619.00. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% to 5,100.75.
Investors are watching for signals from the European Central Bank, where the Governing Council is concluding its policy meeting, and for the message that ECB President Christine Lagarde could convey at her press conference.
In Asia, the Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 momentarily hit a record high in early trading, but then fell to finish at 39,598.71, down 1.2%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose almost 0.4% to 7,763.70. South Korea's Kospi added 0.2% to 2,647.62. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.3% to 16,229.78, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,027.40.
"The positive carryover from Wall Street, coupled with lower Treasury yields and a weaker US dollar, may offer some relief as the Fed Chair's testimony failed to deviate much from his usual script," he said. Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell He said again that interest rate cuts are possible this year, but that the Federal Reserve needs more data showing inflation is cooling before acting.
Investors are scrutinizing Powell's words for clues about when the Federal Reserve might begin cutting its main interest rate, which is at its highest level since 2001.
"We have some confidence in that," Powell said of inflation falling toward his 2% target.
"We want to see a little more data to have more confidence."
Traders have already shelved earlier expectations of a March cut, and now see June as the most likely start.
Investors are also awaiting U.S. inflation and economic activity data due later this week, as well as data from Britain on monthly output and the labor market.
Wall Street's hope has been continued but more modest growth in job openings. Such a slowdown could help the economy thread the needle and stay out of recession, while also removing upward pressure on inflation. That, in turn, could lead the Federal Reserve to cut rates.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 45 cents to $78.68 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 49 cents to $82.47 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 147.97 Japanese yen from 149.32 yen, amid some speculation that the Bank of Japan could finally start raising interest rates. But analysts say they don't expect any movement yet at the next meeting scheduled for later this month.
The euro slowly fell to $1.0900 from $1.0902.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
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