Shares fall after weak overseas data; US-China trade tensions in focus
By Sinéad Carew and Tom Wilson
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) — MSCI's global equities index lost ground on Wednesday after weaker-than-expected overseas data and as investors monitored a heating up of American-Chinese trade tensions while they awaited upcoming U.S. economic data and second-quarter earnings.
Investors shrugged off U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes released on Wednesday that showed a Fed united in its June meeting decision to hold interest rates steady to buy time to assess whether further hikes would be needed. Minutes also showed most members expecting more policy tightening eventually.
«If we continue to see a cooling of inflation, there may not be any further rate hikes, but nothing to that end was disclosed in the Fed minutes,» said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. «We'll have a much better sense after we get another major data point on Friday with the jobs report and the inflation data next week.»
Putting a damper on equities overseas was the release earlier of a survey showing China's services sector — which had rebounded since the lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns — expanding in June at the softest pace in five months, adding to signs of a faltering recovery in the world's second-biggest economy.
A U.S. Commerce Department spokesperson said on Wednesday that the United States «firmly» opposes export controls announced by China on Monday for gallium and germanium, and that Washington will consult its partners and allies. Companies were racing to secure supplies ahead of a Aug. 1 deadline after China's abrupt decision, to restrict exports of two metals widely used in semiconductors and electric vehicles.
«If you look at the global level, all the
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