Even though MSCI’s all-country stock index powered to its best levels since March last year, U.S. stock futures took a bit of a breather and stepped back from latest peaks early on Wednesday.
Cooling the mood was a profit miss from global delivery firm FedEx, whose shares dropped almost 10% after the bell on Tuesday after it cut full-year revenue forecasts as its largest Express business saw demand from the U.S. Postal Service drop.
U.S. consumer confidence readings for December will be watched closely later today, but housing market readouts this week have been upbeat.
Gains against sterling aside, the dollar was mixed. Crude oil prices were a touch higher, but still negative year-on-year and U.S. naval force protection for Red Sea shipping helped ease jitters about threats to supply chains there.
Overseas, the worrying funk in China’s economy seemed to be spreading as Japan’s exports fell last month for the first time in three months, dragged down by China-bound chip shipments.
But stocks and bonds in Tokyo continued to be buoyed by this week’s decision by the Bank of Japan to stand pat on its super-easy monetary policy.
Toshiba was delisted on Wednesday after 74 years on the Tokyo exchange, following a decade of upheaval and scandal that ushered in a buyout and an uncertain future.
China’s markets, as so often this year, underperformed yet again and lost another 1% on Tuesday to hit their lowest in almost five years. Freezing weather there added to chill.
A Bank of America Asia fund manager survey showed more than 60% of investors would rather stick to a wait-and-watch approach or look for opportunities elsewhere than be exposed to China equities. “Investor interest towards risk assets in China is shockingly low,” the report said.
In politics, next year’s U.S. election speculation hovered into view again after Colorado’s top court ruled former President Donald Trump was disqualified from serving as president and cannot appear on the primary ballot because of his role in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
