Global stocks are mixed after Wall Street’s best week of the year; yen rallies

Global stocks were mixed Monday as investors pondered the upcoming meeting of the Federal Reserve, following Wall Street’s best week since November that ended with a slight uptick in U.S. stocks Friday.

Germany’s DAX was little changed at 18,319.80 in early trading and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1% to 7,459.45. In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.2% to 8,298.41. Futures for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%.

Japan’s benchmark index ended 1.8% lower at 37,388.62 after data showed core machinery orders, which are used as a leading indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, fell 1.7% year on year in June.

The U.S. dollar fell nearly 1% to 146.15 yen from 147.58 yen as rising bets on a Fed September rate cut dragged the dollar down.

“The recent turmoil in the foreign exchange market isn’t just about the Bank of Japan’s actions ... other factors, like signals from the Federal Reserve about possible rate cuts, weak U.S. job market data, and broader global economic uncertainties, have also contributed to the recent turbulence,” Luca Santos, currency analyst at ACY Securities, said in a commentary.

The market’s focus is on Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give a speech later in the week. The setting has been the site of big policy announcements in the past.

Because the Fed has said its upcoming moves will depend in large part on what data reports at the time say, “it will be difficult for Powell to pre-commit to a particular trajectory at Jackson Hole,” said economists at Deutsche Bank led by Matthew Luzzetti.

But Powell could offer hints about whether the Fed is hoping to merely remove the brakes from the economy through rate cuts or give it an accelerant.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 7,980.40 and the Kospi in Seoul lost 0.9% to 2,674.36. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.8% to 17,569.57, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.5% at 2,893.67.

Bangkok’s SET rose 1.3% after data showed the country’s gross domestic product in the second quarter grew 2.3% from a year earlier, driven by tourism.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 5,554.25 for a seventh straight gain and pulled back within 2% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 40,659.76, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to 17,631.72.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market following mixed reports on the U.S. economy. One showed homebuilders broke ground on fewer projects last month than forecast, which threw some cold water on the market. Optimism had been rising earlier in the week following a flurry of better-than-expected reports on everything from inflation to sales at U.S. retailers.

But a report later in the morning suggested U.S. consumers are feeling better about the economy than expected. That’s a big deal for Wall Street because their spending makes up the bulk of the economy.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.88% from 3.92% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, fell to 4.05% from 4.10% late Thursday.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gave up 42 cents to $75.12 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 51 cents to $79.17 a barrel.

The euro has been strengthening against the U.S. dollar. On Monday, it cost $1.1037, up from $1.1028.