Global shares were mixed in cautious trading Monday ahead of the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., when stock exchanges are closed.
France's CAC 40 slipped 0.3% in early trading to 7,611.64, while Germany's DAX fell 0.1% to 18,881.14. Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed, down less than 0.1% at 8,370.39. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.1% at 41,613.00. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% to 5,654.25.
Investors were also looking ahead to the U.S. employment report set for release Friday for an indication of the strength of the American economy.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.1% to finish at 38,700.87, after the Finance Ministry reported capital spending by Japanese companies in the April-June quarter increased 7.4% from the previous year.
After a period of stagnation, Japan’s economy is showing signs of a recovery. Next week, Japan will release revised gross domestic product, or GDP, data, a measure of the value of a nation’s goods and services. The preliminary data released earlier showed the first growth in two quarters.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,109.90, while South Korea’s Kospi gained nearly 0.3% to 2,681.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.7% to 17,691.97. The Shanghai Composite dipped 1.1% to 2,811.04.
A bit of pessimism rolled in over China’s growth prospects over the weekend, as its National Bureau of Statistics reported that August manufacturing PMI, a barometer of industrial output, fell from 49.4 to 49.1. That was weaker than market forecasts.
Recent reports on the U.S. economy, including inflation, consumer spending and income, have been encouraging. The Commerce Department said its personal consumption and expenditures report showed prices rose 0.2% from June to July, up slightly from the previous month’s 0.1% increase.
That means price rises are slowing down, and that’s likely to lead to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the first time in more than four years. The market expects the Fed will start cutting rates later this month.
In other encouraging news, Friday’s Commerce Department report showed Americans stepped up their spending by 0.5% from June to July and incomes rose 0.3%, faster in July than the previous month.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 5 cents to $73.60 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 6 cents to $76.99 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 146.68 Japanese yen from 146.18 yen. The euro cost $1.1071, up from $1.1053.