BEIJING (AP) — Following an unproductive meeting between the top U.S. diplomat and China’s leader, global stock markets mirrored Wall Street’s decline on Monday, as no signs of progress emerged on various conflicts.
London and Paris experienced opening losses, while Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong also retreated. U.S. markets remained closed on Monday due to a holiday, and oil prices saw a decrease.
On Friday, Wall Street’s key index, the S&P 500, dropped 0.4% after the Federal Reserve chose to maintain its benchmark lending rate but cautioned that it might be raised in the future if necessary to control inflation.
Xi Jinping held talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken following what the Chinese government described as “frank and comprehensive” discussions with foreign affairs officials, at a time when bilateral relations are at their lowest point in decades. Both sides expressed a willingness to collaborate on major issues.
Yeap Jun Rong of IG stated in a report, “Whether this will result in any concrete positive outcomes remains to be seen. The absence of action on this front could ultimately cause any optimism to fade away.”
During early trading, the FTSE 100 in London experienced a 0.4% loss, reaching 7,608.25. The DAX in Frankfurt retreated by 0.6%, settling at 16,268.19, and the CAC 40 in Paris declined by 0.5%, reaching 7,345.33.
On Wall Street, the futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a minor decrease of less than 0.1%.
On Friday, the Dow slipped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%.
The S&P 500 remains close to a 14-month high, with a 15% increase so far this year.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5% and settled at 3,255.80 following the meeting between Xi and Blinken.
Xi stated in a released statement that both sides “agreed to uphold the common understandings” that he and President Joe Biden had reached during their December meeting in Indonesia.
However, the statement did not indicate any progress on disputes concerning Taiwan, human rights, technology, and security, which have strained relations and disrupted trade in semiconductors and other goods.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo tumbled 1% to 33,370.42, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.6% to 19,912.89.
The Kospi in Seoul retreated 0.6% to 2,609.50, while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.6% and reached 7,294.90.
India’s Sensex shed 0.3% and settled at 63,224.32, while markets in New Zealand and Southeast Asia also experienced declines.
In the previous week, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged, marking the first time in ten consecutive monthly meetings that it did not announce an increase.
However, the Fed issued a warning that it could potentially raise rates up to two more times later this year. Wall Street is anticipating a rate hike at the next meeting scheduled for July 25-26.
A survey released on Friday indicated that U.S. consumers are lowering their expectations for future inflation. The preliminary reading from the University of Michigan survey also suggested that consumer sentiment is strengthening beyond initial predictions.
In the energy markets, the benchmark U.S. crude saw a decrease of 16 cents, reaching $71.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract had risen by $1.16, settling at $71.78. Brent crude, which serves as the price reference for international oil trading, experienced a decline of 17 cents, reaching $76.44 per barrel in London. In the previous session, it had gained 94 cents, reaching $76.61.
The dollar rose to 141.89 yen from the previous day’s rate of 141.80 yen. The euro, on the other hand, fell to $1.0921 from $1.0943.