World Shares Mixed Even As Wall Street Rallies

World shares were mixed Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after a rally on Wall Street as investors welcomed a report showing US consumer confidence is holding up despite the Federal Reserve’s campaign to fight inflation by raising interest rates, Elaine Kurtenbach reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower to 14,081.26.

Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower to 14,081.26. The CAC 40 in Paris also lost 0.1%, to 6,578.93. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%, to 7,525.54. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials were down 0.1%.

Markets got a boost from a report Wednesday showing US consumer confidence is surprisingly strong, despite inflation squeezing wallets.

Asian markets also got a lift from the overnight rally in tech shares, which spilled into trading in Hong Kong. E-commerce giant Alibaba jumped 4.1% while online services company Tencent gained 4.1%.

Online shopping and food delivery platform Meituan picked up 6.9%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 2.7% to 19,679.22, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5% to 3,054.43. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.5% higher at 26,507.87 and the Kospi in Seoul rose 1.2% to 2,356.73.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5% to 7,152.50. Bangkok’s SET gained 0.2% while the Taiex in Taiwan climbed 1.2%.

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Wednesday, bringing major indexes into the green for the week. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.6%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%. The Russell 2000 small caps index rose 1.7%. The Fed’s key lending rate, the federal funds rate, stands at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years. Fed policymakers are forecasting the rate will reach a range of 5% to 5.25% by the end of 2023 and won’t be cut before 2024.

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