European stocks close higher as Wall Street dips
European and Asian stocks closed higher on Tuesday while Wall Street was trading slightly lower, without any major economic data to set a firm direction.
The dip of the main US indices came as the market digested a Moody's credit rating downgrade from last Friday. It also followed a recent weeklong US market rally, with analysts suggesting a likely consolidation of gains.
In Europe, London and Paris finished higher and Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.4 percent to go past 24,000 points for the first time.
Some of the rise stemmed from hopes of a European Central Bank interest rate cut next month, said Philippe Cohen, portfolio manager at Kiplink.
Luxury clothing company Chanel waited until after Paris's close to report a 28-percent drop in 2024 net profit.
Asian stocks closed moslty higher, with Hong Kong rising more than one percent, buoyed by China cutting its interest rates to historic lows, and Tokyo also up.
The Chinese central bank move, which had been expected, comes as officials battle to kickstart the economy amid trade tensions with the United States and a persistent domestic spending slump.
Elsewhere, the Australian central bank cut its key interest rate to its lowest level in two years, citing steady progress in bringing inflation under control.
The dollar weakened against major currencies as G7 finance ministers met in Canada to discuss global economic conditions, as well as seeking a common position on Ukraine.
David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said investors did not seem overly alarmed by the Moody's downgrade, even though it was weighing on the dollar and US bonds.
"It looks as if sentiment is sufficiently resilient to take this punch on the nose in its stride," he said.
Instead, attention was focused more on the fate of US President Donald Trump's giant tax cut proposal, which he was to discuss in a closed-door meeting with House Republicans. The legislation is expected to face a close vote later this week.
Patrick J O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com, said investors were "waiting to see if the Treasury market can keep its cool" as the bill is debated, given it "is expected to add trillions to the budget deficit".
In corporate news, billionaire Elon Musk said he was pulling back from spending his fortune on politics, and asserted the Tesla electric car company he runs was doing well despite blowback over his support of Trump.
Aside from a Tesla sales decline in Europe, "we're strong everywhere else," Musk said.
Chinese battery giant CATL ended its first day on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange more than 16 percent higher, having raised $4.6 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering this year.
A global leader in the sector, CATL produces more than a third of all electric vehicle batteries sold worldwide.
- Key figures at around 1615 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 42,735.06 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,947.91
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,143.42
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 8,781.12 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,942.42 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,036.11 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 37,529.49 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 23,681.48 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,380.48 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1252 from $1.1244 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3368 from $1.3360
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.72 yen from 144.87 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.16 pence from 84.14 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $61.68 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $65.04 per barrel
T.Hancock--TNT
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