World shares were mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited key central bank meetings and reacted to Germany's report of a contraction in its economy in the last quarter. The Federal Reserve, Bank of England, and Bank of Japan are all set to hold monetary policy meetings this week.
According to official figures released by the European Union statistics agency Eurostat, the gross domestic product in the 20 eurozone countries rose by 0.3% in the second quarter. However, Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, experienced a 0.1% decline in output.
Market movements in Europe saw France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX rising, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 reversed earlier losses to finish higher, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi saw declines. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite index also slipped.
Analysts noted that markets may be struggling to position themselves ahead of the central bank meetings. In Japan, the unemployment rate in June improved slightly to 2.5% from the previous month.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average showed slight movements, while the Nasdaq composite edged up. Big Tech companies like Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon are set to report their results later in the week, with investors closely watching their performance.
The upcoming Fed policy meeting on interest rates is anticipated to bring no immediate changes, with expectations of easing to begin in September. Energy trading saw benchmark U.S. crude and Brent crude prices falling. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen and the euro.
