Stock market today: Global stocks mixed as worries over Russia-Ukraine
war loom
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 [November 20, 2024] By
ZIMO ZHONG
HONG KONG (AP) — World stocks were mixed on Wednesday, despite gains on
Wall Street, as worries mounted over escalations in the Russia-Ukraine
war.
On Tuesday, Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range
missiles into Russia, according to the official, marking the first such
use in nearly 1,000 days of war. On the same day, Russian President
Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its
nuclear weapons.
Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 8,108.45 after the Office for National
Statistics reported the inflation rate picked up to 2.3% in October, a
sharp increase from the 1.7% rise recorded in September. Germany’s DAX
added 0.6% to 19,173.08, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5% to
7,268.87.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up
0.3%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% to 38,352.34 after the Finance
Ministry reported the country recorded a trade deficit in October, for a
fourth straight month. Exports rose 3.1% from a year earlier as a weak
yen and the rising price of energy kept import costs high. A trade
deficit occurs when the country is importing more goods and services
than it is exporting.
Shares of Seven & i Holdings Co., the company that owns over 80,000
7-Eleven convenience stores worldwide, soared 8.4% on Wednesday after
local media reported that the founding family plans to raise over 8
trillion yen ($51.66 billion) to take the company private within this
financial year.
China's central bank announced it will keep its benchmark lending rates
unchanged after it cut its one-year lending rate to 3.1% in October.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.2% higher to 19,705.01, and the Shanghai
Composite gained 0.7% to 3,367.99.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.6% to 8,326.30. South Korea’s Kospi
added 0.4% to 2,482.29.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 5,916.98 after erasing an early
drop of 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite also shook off an early loss to turn
1% higher to 18,987.47, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped
0.3% to 43,268.94.
Nvidia’s 4.9% climb accounted for most of the index’s gain. The chip
company’s stock rallied ahead of its profit report for the latest
quarter, which is coming later Wednesday, and vaulted its gain for the
year to nearly 197% thanks to the craze around artificial-intelligence
technology.
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Currency traders watch their computer monitors near the screens
showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the
foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won,
center, and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ),
at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday,
Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The worries on the Ukraine-Russia conflict sent investors into U.S.
Treasury bonds, which are seen as some of the world’s safest
investments. The rise in their prices in turn lowered their yields, and
the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.39% from 4.41% late Monday.
Gold also rose 0.6% and recovered some of the losses it sustained
following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, as
investors herded into places traditionally considered safer during times
of trouble.
Walmart climbed 3% after topping forecasts for both profit and revenue.
The nation’s biggest retailer said it saw broad-based strength across
its categories, including sales made both online and in stores. It also
said it served more upper-income households, while raising its forecasts
for sales and profit for the full year.
Lowe’s likewise delivered bigger profit and revenue for the latest
quarter than analysts expected, but its stock nevertheless dropped 4.6%.
A report in the morning said construction crews broke ground on fewer
new homes last month than economists expected, and rival Home Depot
slipped 0.9%.
Other big companies set to report their latest quarterly results this
week include Target on Wednesday and Deere & Co. on Thursday.
In other dealings early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude oil edged 30
cents higher to $69.54 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 25 cents to $73.56 per
barrel.
The dollar rose to 155.63 Japanese yen from 154.54 yen. The euro slipped
to $1.0574 from $1.0598.
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