TOKYO -- Global stocks were trading mixed on Tuesday, the second day Chinese markets were open after the Lunar New Year break.
France's CAC 40 added 0.3% in early trading to 7,788.86, while Germany's DAX fell 0.3% to 17,047.67. Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed, inching up just under 0.1% to 7,732.31. US stocks were expected to fall lower with Dow futures falling almost 0.2% to 38,621.00. Yes&P 500 futures fell 0.2% to 5,007.50.
Operations on Wall Street were closed on Monday in the United States for President's Day. Investors were generally becoming less optimistic due to expectations that higher interest rates would likely take effect soon.
China's central bank left its 1-year prime lending rate unchanged on Tuesday, but cut its 5-year rate by 25 basis points to 3.95%. It was a surprise, the first time the five-year rate has been cut since May 2023.
"The five-year LPR cut is likely intended to support the housing market recovery and could improve affordability for buyers by lowering mortgage rates," said Lynn Song, chief economist at ING.
Benchmark indices rose in China but fell in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.6% to 16,247.51, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% to 2,922.73.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3% to finish at 38,363.61.
S from Australia&The P/ASX 200 fell less than 0.1% to 7,659.00. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.8% to 2,657.79.
A recent US report on inflation at the wholesale level has indicated that price increases are still continuing. These data tend to dampen hopes that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates in March.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 6 cents to $79.25 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 28 cents to $83.33 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 150.32 Japanese yen from 150.10 yen. The euro cost $1.0778, down from $1.0783.
