Markets Flat Ahead Of Midterms, U.S. Inflation Data

Wall Street is essentially flat before the opening bell Tuesday with Americans heading to the polls to vote in the midterm elections that are being heavily influenced by inflation, with more data on that front arriving this week, Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The Nasdaq composite added 0.9%.

Futures for the S&P 500 moved 0.16% higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13%.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX added 0.3%, while the CAC40 in Paris was flat after being down early. In London, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 rose 1% and the Dow industrials 1.3%. The Nasdaq composite added 0.9%.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to 27,872.11 on strong earnings reports. The Kospi in Seoul advanced 1.2% to 2,399.04 and Australia’s S&P/AXS 200 gained 0.4% to 6,958.90.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 0.2% to 16,557.31, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.4% to 3,064.49. Thailand’s SET gained 0.5%. India’s markets were closed for a holiday.

In other trading, US benchmark crude oil lost 58 cents to $91.21 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 82 cents to $91.79 per barrel on Monday.

Brent crude, the international pricing standard, gave up 33 cents to $97.59 per barrel. The US dollar slipped to 146.50 Japanese yen from 146.63 yen. The euro dropped to 99.94 cents from $1.0016.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic