World stock markets were little changed yesterday while the US dollar fell slightly against an index of major currencies, as investors brushed aside a US-North Korea summit aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore, pledging to work toward complete denuclearization, while Washington committed to providing security guarantees for its old enemy.
The MSCI all-country world index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, gained 0.07 per cent on the day. The dollar index fell 0.04 per cent, steadied in part by data yesterday showing US consumer prices rose in May amid a slowdown in the increase of gasoline costs. The euro was up 0.06 per cent to $1.1789.
Investors had mixed reactions to the North Korea summit, which ended with the signing of a joint statement that gave few details on how the goals set by both sides would be achieved.
Buyers of equities and government bonds seemed more interested in other matters. Along with the positive US inflation data, investors were focused on the kick-off of a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting, at which the Fed is expected to raise interest rates, as well as meetings later this week by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan.
“We’re eagerly awaiting the Fed, the ECB and the BOJ, in that order,” said Gregory Anderson, global head of FX strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York.
“People are reluctant to do a whole lot ahead of that.”
Futures contracts indicate a 96 per cent probability the fed funds rate will be raised a quarter of a percentage point today, according to CME Group.
Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes last fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.9663 per cent, from 2.957 per cent late on Monday. The 30-year bond last fell 4/32 in price to yield 3.1032 per cent, from 3.097 per cent Monday.
Wall Street’s main equity indexes were mixed but steady, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 8.78 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 25,313.53, the S&P 500 gaining 3.07 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 2,785.07 and the Nasdaq Composite adding 28.74 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 7,688.66.
Twitter drove the jump on the benchmark S&P, gaining 6.25 per cent in midday trading after J.P. Morgan raised its price target by $11 to $50.
Tesla jumped more than 4.8 per cent after Keybanc raised its estimates for Model 3 deliveries for the second quarter and full-year.
In Europe, the regional FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.01 per cent.
The European Central Bank meets tomorrow, with some expecting it to provide guidance for ending its bond-buying programme at the end of this year.
US crude rose 0.53 per cent to $66.45 per barrel and Brent was last at $76.41.