The stock markets in Asia were largely flat on Tuesday to show the cautiousness of investors while they wait for the European Central Bank’s meeting later in the week. Investors are also on the lookout for any further action around Russia’s oil sanctions.
The US Market to Open High
Meanwhile, the US stock market is billed to open on a high note on Tuesday after the Labor Day break on Monday. The S&P index might add 0.31%.
The British FTSE lost 0.2% to show a bad start in London. Most stock indexes in Europe shed weight on Monday. Note that the Euro fell under 99 cents; a state which has not been seen in 20 years. Gas prices rose exceptionally following Russia’s decision to halt gas supply to Europe.
The MSCI measure of stocks in the Asia-Pacific region went up by 0.02%. The Japanese Nikkei gained 0.03% to move upward.
The Chinese CSI300 index increased by 0.58% following the government’s promise of doubling efforts to boost the country’s economy which has been badly hit by COVID. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng took a dip by 0.07%.
Europe Battles High Power Cost
The Chinese Yuan still recovered from the 2-year depth it fell into following the central bank’s decision to the ratio of the forex reserve in order to support the Yuan. An investment advisor, John Milroy, said that bulk items will depend on the effect of the stimulus package while its success will show in the miners.
In Australia, the ASX 200 index dropped by 0.36% following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s increment of the interest rate by 50 basis points as widely expected. The meeting of the European Central Bank to make a decision on interest rates will come up on Thursday. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to have its policy meeting on the 21st of September.
An analyst from Australia said increased inflation might lead the ECB to implement a high-interest rate on Thursday. Energy Ministers across the Eurozone are expected to meet on Friday to discuss how to control the rising cost of power cost.
A 75 basis point interest rate increase by the ECB might decelerate inflation.
The price of oil dropped on Tuesday and it shed the 3% earlier gained as the OPEC+ reached an agreement to reduce oil output in October by 100k barrels a day. This was seen as a move that would reverse the market’s fall.