China’s producer price index jumped 9% from a year earlier in May
U.S. stock finished lower overnight, with investors awaiting the inflation data due on Thursday. Market players were also weighing the potential impact of a minimum corporate tax that could enable foreign governments to impose levies on big American companies. The S&P 500 inched up less than 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.3%.
In Asia, equities were mixed amid fresh economic data out of China. China’s producer price index jumped 9% from a year earlier in May, the fastest increase since 2008. However, the headline consumer price index rose 1.3%, lower than expected. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.35% to 28,860.80, the Kospi in Seoul fell 0.9%, Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.3% while the Shanghai Composite in China added 0.32%.
European equities turned negative after having opened flat, with airlines being among the gainers after easing travel rules from the U.S. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.10% lower in recent trading. The German DAX 30 slipped 0.29%, the French CAC 40 gained 0.02%, and the FTSE 100 index was down 0.52%.
In currencies, the dollar is mostly lower on Wednesday following some gains seen yesterday. As such, the euro gains traction, approaching the 1.2200 figure as markets get closer to the key ECB meeting on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the data showed that the German trade surplus expanded to 15.9 billion euros in April from14.3 billion euros while the current account surplus shrank to 21.3 billion euros during the same period from 30.0 billion euros. If the euro fails to overcome the mentioned barrier any time soon, a pullback could be expected.
