Asia
The People’s Bank of China surprised regional investors by hiking short-term interest rates, although it followed the Federal Reserve as it had done in March. The move came ahead of a raft of Chinese economic data, including retail sales and industrial production, which both expanded at the predicted rate.
China’s main markets, the Shanghai and Shenzhen Composite Indices, fell by less than half of 1%. Markets in Hong Kong and Japan also dipped after recent rallies.
Europe
Europe’s central banks step up to the plate on Thursday: the Bank of England is forecast to leave interest rates on old at 0.5% after November’s rate rise and the European Central Bank to also leave rates on hold.
Markets across the region were lower ahead of central bank announcements.
On the FTSE 250, Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct (SPD) was down nearly 10% after a plunge in profits. At the other end the table, shares in online grocer Ocado (OCDO) were nearly 4% higher after a rise in revenue, order size and value in the 14 weeks to December 3rd. The company’s shares are up sharply since the end of November: having traded around 230p a share then, they are now changing hands at over 350p.
The FTSE 100 dropped below the 7,500 points level it had briefly reclaimed this week, amid signs of strengthening in the pound against the euro.
North America
The Federal Reserve, as expected, raised interest rates by 0.25% last night and maintained its previous position that there will be three more 25 basis points increases next year. The Fed sees 2018 GDP rising by 2.5% but that inflation will remain below the 2% target.
Weekly jobless claims and monthly retail sales will be in focus on Thursday.
There are some corporate earnings to hold investors’ attention ahead of the holiday season: wholesaler Costco (COST) and tech firms Oracle (ORCL) and Adobe (ADBE) will report after the market closes.
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