European markets closed lower Wednesday after regional economic sentiment dropped in December, according to preliminary data. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended the session down 0.27%, having traded higher for most of the morning session. Most major bourses and the majority of sectors also closed the day in negative territory, with healthcare, financial services and media stocks among the few in the green. The downturn came after the European Commission released preliminary data showing its economic sentiment indicator had dropped 1.7 points in the EU and 1.9 points in the euro area...
U.S. stocks ended Wednesday little changed, as major indexes failed to stray frar from the unchanged mark, with investors digesting the impact of two conflicting sets of jobs data and a report that said President-elect Donald Trump was mulling a national economic emergency declaration on inflation. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's Dec. 17-18 meeting showed on Wednesday that officials saw a rising risk that price pressures may remain sticky as policymakers began wrestling with the impact of policies expected from the incoming Trump administration. Market sentiment was fragile after a...
Asia-Pacific markets tumbled Thursday following a choppy session on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve meeting minutes signaled interest rates could stay higher for longer due to sticky inflation. Investors in Asia also await China's inflation data for December. Economists polled by Reuters expect growth in consumer prices to have remained near zero, while producer prices are estimated to have continued to slide.Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.14% and the Topix fell 0.29%.Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.63%.South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.1%, while the small-cap Kosdaq slid...