The US market was nearly flat before Wednesday’s bell as the results of the US midterm elections continued and congressional control was in jeopardy.
Benchmark S&P 500 futures were down 0.5%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.5%.
A stake in Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is the social media giant’s laid off 11,000 employees, About 13% of employees. Meta’s cut, whose revenue has been declining for the second straight quarter, comes just a week after Twitter made widespread job cuts under new owners. Billionaire Elon Musk.
With votes from the US midterm elections still being tallied across the country, Republicans hoped to gain control of Congress. Democrats have shown remarkable strength, Despite expectations that inflation and President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings would drag the party down, it beat the Republicans in several competitive races.
Elections could determine how much happens in Washington in the next few years and possibly beyond. Republicans take control A Democratic conflict with the White House in at least one House of Congress could hinder progress on legislation.
Bitcoin fell overnight to around $17,465, its lowest level in almost two years. After his one day on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, most of the crypto sector followed Bitcoin’s decline. binancesaid it plans to purchase rival FTX Trading for an amount equivalent to the bailout.
Shares of publicly traded companies with high exposure to cryptocurrencies also fell before the market after a sharp decline on Tuesday. Coinbase is down 5% before the bell, Robinhood Markets is down 2% and MicroStrategy is down 6%.
In Europe at noon, Germany’s DAX fell 0.5%, while Paris’ CAC 40 and London’s FTSE 100 both fell 0.3%.
Chinese stocks fell after weak inflation data provided further evidence of weakening demand in the world’s second largest economy.
The Chinese government reported that consumer price inflation eased to 2.1% in October from 2.8% in September. The Producer Price Index (PPI) fell to -1.3% from 0.9% in October, falling into deflationary territory for the 21st straight month, further suggesting the second-largest economy is slowing. .
“China’s inflation data show a rather bleak picture, with the PPI still in deflation, the CPI well below expectations and a decline in demand,” SPI Asset Management’s Steven Innes said in a commentary. there are,” he said.
In the Asian deal, Tokyo’s 29.1 trillion yen ($190 billion) supplementary budget was approved on Tuesday to fund an economic stimulus package planned for the world’s third-largest economy. The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.6% to 27,716.43.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2% to 16,358.52 while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5% to 3,048.17.
In Seoul Kospi rose 1.1% to 2,424.41, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 6,999.30.
A more important milestone for markets this week than the election may be Thursday’s report on inflation. Federal Reserve rate hike in progress to keep it under control.
By raising interest rates, the Federal Reserve is deliberately making it more expensive to borrow money and slowing the economy. High interest rates also tend to depress the prices of stocks and other investments while increasing the risk of recession.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) has raised its key overnight rate to a range of 3.75% to 4% from virtually zero in March, with more investors expecting it to rise above 5% next year.
Thursday’s weaker-than-expected reading could give the Fed room to ease a bit. Economists expect the report to show continued modest easing from the peak set in the summer. , worse-than-expected measurements can have the opposite effect.
In other trading on Wednesday, US benchmark crude fell $1.45 to $87.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international price benchmark, fell from $1.50 to $93.86 a barrel in London.
The dollar climbed from 145.65 yen to 145.78 yen. The euro fell from he $1.0076 to he $1.0045.
On Wall Street on Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.
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Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. Ott reported from Washington.
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