BEIJING (AP) โ Stocks fell on Friday in Europe and Asia after a series of mixed data on the U.S. economy dashed hopes that lower interest rates will soon follow.
Oil prices were lower.
Germany's DAX was steady at 17,944.46 and London's FTSE 100 was down less than 0.1% at 7,739.48. In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.1% to 8,170.95.
Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were broadly unchanged.
In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 38,707.64.
Shares in car manufacturers honda and nissan rose ahead of the announcement that the two companies will collaborate on electric vehicles and automotive intelligence technology. Honda Motor Co. gained 1.7%, while Nissan Motor Co. rose 3.2%.
In South Korea, the Kospi fell 1.9% to 2,666.84.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4% to 16,720.89 after reports said house prices have continued to fall since February. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3% to 3,054.64.
China's market watchdog announced that regulators will tighten standards for listed companies.
"There is still a gap between the quality of listed companies and the requirements for high-quality economic and social development and investors' expectations," the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in an online notice.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 7,670.30.
US stocks fell on Thursday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.3% and the Dow industrials down 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.3%.
The moves were most decisive in the bond market, where Treasury yields rose after a report showed inflation was slightly hottest at wholesale level last month than economists expected. It is the last of a data string in inflation that has been worse than expectedwhich has kept the door closed on earlier hopes that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates at its meeting next week.
But other reports released Thursday also showed some weakening in the economy, keeping hopes alive that the long-term trend in inflation remains bearish.
The question looming over Wall Street is to what extent the latest signs of potentially persistent inflation will ultimately delay rate cuts. That, in turn, could hurt the huge run U.S. stocks have been on since late October, rising in 16 of the last 19 weeks.
Fed officials will give their latest forecasts on where they see interest rates heading this year on Wednesday, following their latest monetary policy meeting.
Among the data they will reflect on is a report from Thursday that said Shoppers spent less at US retailers. last month than economists expected. These data weigh on the overall economy, but could also remove upward pressure on inflation.
The government also said retail sales were weaker in January than previously thought. Strong spending by American households has been one of the pillars that has kept the economy out of a recession despite high interest rates.
A separate report said fewer American workers applied unemployment benefits last week than expected. That's good news for workers in general. But excessive strength in the labor market, which has remained remarkably resilient, could add upward pressure on inflation.
US Steel sank 6.4% after the president Joe Biden went against the planned sale of the company to Nippon Steel of Japan.
Nippon Steel announced in December that it planned to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security.
In other trading early Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 34 cents to $80.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 36 cents to $85.06 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 148.76 Japanese yen from 148.32 yen. The euro rose to $1.0886 from $1.0884.
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