Chinese state media reported that Premier Li Keqiang emphasized the need to step up financial support for the economy at a State Council meeting on Wednesday
World shares were mostly higher Thursday after China indicated its central bank will ease reserve requirements for lenders to counter the blow to its economy from pandemic shutdowns in big cities like Shanghai.
London stocks slipped while Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai gained. Frankfurt was flat. U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices also fell.
Trading was relatively quiet with some Asian markets closed for holidays. Markets in the U.S. and Europe face a shortened week and will be closed on Friday for Good Friday holidays.
Chinese state media reported that Premier Li Keqiang emphasized the need to step up financial support for the economy at a State Council meeting on Wednesday.
Officials at the meeting agreed to ‘use monetary policy tools like reserve requirement ratio cuts at an appropriate time’ the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The outlook remains highly uncertain but there are signs that the virus situation is starting to improve and that the focus of officials is shifting toward helping the economy get back on its feet, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a note.
Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% lower early Thursday to 14,068.52 while the CAC 40 in Paris inched 0.1% higher to 6,546.02. Britain’s FTSE 100 UK slipped 0.1% to 7,569.81. Dow Jones Industrials futures was unchanged, while that for the S&P 500 was 0.1% higher.
Investors have appeared to brush aside fresh evidence that inflation remains widespread in the U.S. economy according to a U.S. government report that rising energy costs pushed wholesale prices up a record 11.2% last month from a year earlier.
That report followed news a day earlier that U.S. consumer prices remain at their highest levels in about 40 years.
Rising prices are driving the Federal Reserve and many other central banks to tighten monetary policy by raising interest rates, among other measures, to help cool the surging demand that is contributing to the problem.
