Stock market today: World shares are mixed after Wall Street extends its weak start to 2024

Posted 1:22AM on Thursday 4th January 2024 ( 5 months ago )

TOKYO (AP) — Shares opened higher in Europe on Thursday after a lackluster trading session in Asia that tracked Wall Street’s weak start to 2024.

The mood was somber in Tokyo as the market reopened from the New Year holidays with a moment of silence instead of a celebratory New Year's ring of the bell after a major earthquake Monday left at least 77 people dead and dozens missing.

Dark-suited officials bowed their heads in a ceremony that usually features women clad in colorful kimonos. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.5% to 33,288.29.

Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 16,596.09 and the CAC 40 in Paris also was up 0.4%, at 7,440.92. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher, to 7,694.11.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher.

In other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended unchanged, at 16,645.98 and the Shanghai Composite index sank 0.4% to 2,954.35.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.4% to 7,494.10. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.8% to 2,587.02. India's Sensex, however, climbed 0.7%.

Stocks fell Wednesday on Wall Street as the slow start to the year there stretched into a second day.

The S&P 500 lost 0.8% and the Dow dropped 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite led the market lower with a drop of 1.2%.

Traders are largely betting the Federal Reserve might first cut interest rates in March. They are putting a high probability on the Fed cutting its main rate by least 1.50 percentage points during 2024, according to data from the CME Group. The federal funds rate is currently sitting within a range of 5.25% to 5.50%.

Even if the Federal Reserve pulls off a perfect landing to shimmy away from high inflation without causing an economic downturn, some critics also say the stock market has simply run too far, too fast in recent months and is due for at least a pause in its run.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 99 cents to $73.69 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It jumped $2.32 a barrel on Wednesday as worries flared over the risk that the Israel-Hamas war might spread to other parts of the Middle East.

Brent crude, the international standard, added 84 cents to $79.09 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 143.98 Japanese yen from 143.29 yen. The euro cost $1.0966, up from $1.0922.

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Yuri Kageyama is on X https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Shunichi Suzuki, Japanese finance minister, delivers speech during a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. Asian stocks plunged Thursday, echoing the pessimism on Wall Street as the Tokyo exchange marked the first day of trading for the year with a broad slide. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Guests observe a minutes of silence for the victims for those killed in Ishikawa Prefecture and other western coastal areas earlier this week by strong earthquake, during a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. Asian stocks plunged Thursday, echoing the pessimism on Wall Street as the Tokyo exchange marked the first day of trading for the year with a broad slide. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A security guard stands guard at the gate of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo, after a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading. Asian stocks plunged Thursday, echoing the pessimism on Wall Street as the Tokyo exchange marked the first day of trading for the year with a broad slide. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The stock price monitor shows first trading price during during a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. Asian stocks plunged Thursday, echoing the pessimism on Wall Street as the Tokyo exchange marked the first day of trading for the year with a broad slide. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at the stock price board showing Nikkei 225 index Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. Asian stocks plunged Thursday, echoing the pessimism on Wall Street as the Tokyo exchange marked the first day of trading for the year with a broad slide. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Staff of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and guests make a ceremonial hand-clapping during a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. Asian stocks plunged Thursday, echoing the pessimism on Wall Street as the Tokyo exchange marked the first day of trading for the year with a broad slide. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Staff work at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo, after a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading. Asian stocks plunged Thursday, echoing the pessimism on Wall Street as the Tokyo exchange marked the first day of trading for the year with a broad slide. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Shunichi Suzuki, Japanese finance minister, leaves after a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Shunichi Suzuki, Japanese finance minister, second left, and other guests observe a minutes of silence for the victims for those killed in Ishikawa Prefecture and other western coastal areas earlier this week by strong earthquake, during a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hiromi Yamaji, CEO of Japan Exchange Group (JPX) delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

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