A report on Wednesday showing China's trade data for June renewed concerns of an economic slowdown. China's exports fell 3.1 percent in June from the previous year while imports fell 0.7 percent.
Japan also released negative data on Wednesday. Its consumer confidence index fell 1.4 points to 44.3 in June.
Stock markets were mixed on Wednesday.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent but the Shanghai Composite jumped 2.2 percent.
Western stock markets were little changed on Wednesday. The STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.1 percent while the S&P 500 was flat.
Most investors were focused on the minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting last month as well as Chairman Ben Bernanke's appearance in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Wednesday. “Highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future is what’s needed in the U.S. economy,” Bernanke reportedly said in response to a question after a speech.
While the Fed looks set to keep rates low for some time to come, Brazil's central bank raised its benchmark Selic rate by 50 basis points to 8.50 percent on Wednesday. It was the second consecutive policy meeting in which rates have been raised.
No comments:
Post a Comment