European equities lose ground, while dollar struggles
Japan and China’s markets are shut for public holidays but a CNBC report lifts China trade deal hopes
London — The dollar nursed overnight gains while Europe’s share markets struggled early on, after the US Federal Reserve dampened bets that it might be readying its first interest rate cut in years. Oil and metals markets added to the pressure on stocks on Thursday with traders sending copper to a two-month low and using news of record US oil production to cash in some of Brent crude’s near 33% rise this year. Europe’s basic resource stocks led the downward shift in equities with a 1.4% drop to their lowest since late March. Continental Europe was also trying to get back up to speed having been shut for holidays on Wednesday. There was the Fed’s signals too. For all the intense political pressure to ease policy and the mixed growth/inflation data, the US Fed held the line on Wednesday and refused to signal anything other than it was still on pause. The dollar index drifted around 97.600 against its set of major currency peers after going as high as 97.728 and hovering around $1.1211...
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