BANGKOK (AP) โ Global stocks were mixed on Wednesday after China promised more spending to boost its economy.
Benchmark indices fell in Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney and Seoul, but rose in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. US futures were mixed and oil prices rose.
China plans to issue 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) in government bonds to finance new construction and other projects as part of an effort to spur faster economic growth.
The goal is to boost higher domestic spending and โfurther consolidate the recovery momentum of the Chinese economy,โ the official Xinhua news agency quoted Zhu Zhongming, vice minister of finance, as saying.
โThis decision suggests a commitment to supporting economic growth and addressing fiscal challenges at various levels of government. It also hints at a possible future change in China's fiscal approach,โ Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
However, officials said the funds would not be channeled into China's ailing real estate sector, which has weighed heavily on growth as developers struggled to meet massive debt repayment obligations while demand weakened.
Chinese stocks posted modest gains on Wednesday, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng rising 0.6% to 17,085.33. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4% to 2,974.11.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX fell 0.4% to 14,825.07 and Paris' CAC 40 lost 0.5% to 6,864.02. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 7,384.58.
The S&P 500 future fell 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average future rose 0.1%. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% and the Dow Jones gained 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.7% to 31,269.92.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,363.17, while Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 lost 2.6 points to 6,834.39. India's Sensex fell 0.8% and the Bangkok SET rose 0.8%.
Stock markets have tumbled under the weight of higher US Treasury yields, although they got a slight reprieve this week when the 10-year Treasury yield retreated after rising to 5.02% earlier this week . Early Wednesday, the 10-year yield was at 4.87%.
High returns hurt the prices of stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other investments. They also drastically slow down the economy and place a burden on the entire financial system.
So far, the broader economy has remained remarkably resilient in the face of much higher interest rates. A strong labor market and spending by American households have helped keep the economy moving forward.
But some investors worry that even if interest rates and yields don't rise further, they will still be high enough to drag the economy into a recession if the Federal Reserve holds firm.
In the oil market, prices have fallen, taking some more pressure off inflation. Early Wednesday, a barrel of benchmark U.S. oil was down 7 cents at $83.67. On Tuesday, it fell $1.75 to settle at $83.74.
Brent crude, the international standard, gained 10 cents early Wednesday to $87.26 a barrel.
US oil had been above $93 last month, and has bounced up and down since then amid concerns that the latest war between Hamas and Israel could lead to supply disruptions from Iran or other major countries. oil producers.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 149.92 Japanese yen from 149.91 yen. The euro fell to $1.0572 from $1.0591.
