World Markets Track Wall Street's Decline, Eroding Last Year's Gains
(AP) -- World shares slipped on Wednesday after Wall Street started 2024 with a slump, giving back some big gains from last year.
Investors are watching for the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting later in the day, hoping for signs the central bank will move ahead with interest rate cuts in coming months.
Germany's DAX gave up 0.1% to 16,750.83 as the German jobless ranks increased by roughly 5,000 in December, according to a report Wednesday. In Paris, the CAC 40 slipped 0.6% to 7,486.05. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.1% to 7,714.08.
The future contract for the S&P 500 edged 0.2% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%.
In Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.9% to 16,646.41, dragged lower by a 2% drop in technology shares. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2% to 2,967.25.
Prices of Chinese gaming companies rose, with Tencent Holdings and Netease both adding more than 1% following local reports that a senior official responsible for overseeing China's gaming industry was dismissed after the release of draft regulations last month that spurred a meltdown in gaming stocks just days before Christmas.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.4% to 7,523.20 as regulators kept a short-selling ban in place.
Bangkok's SET lost 0.3% and India's Sensex was down 0.7%.
Japanese markets remained closed for the New Year holiday.
On Tuesday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite led the market lower with a drop of 1.6%.
Figures due out later Wednesday will show how many job openings U.S. employers were advertising at the end of November, data that the Federal Reserve follows closely. Friday will bring the U.S. government's monthly tally of job growth across the country.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 84 cents to $69.53 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 82 cents to $75.07 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 142.60 Japanese yen from 141.99 yen. The euro increased to $1.0944 from $1.0936.