Global stock markets mixed as focus shifts to central bankers

Bloomberg

Stocks struggled for traction at the start of a week set to be dominated by the gathering of central bankers at Jackson Hole amid growing unease about persistent low inflation. Euro-region bonds gained with Treasuries, while the dollar edged lower.
The Stoxx Euro 600 Index declined on thin trading volumes as declines in banks and car makers offset gains for miners and food companies. US equity futures were largely flat, signaling the S&P 500 may stabilize after a tumultuous week for President Donald Trump’s administration.
The euro reversed a drop after the Bundesbank said the German economy may grow more strongly than forecast this year. Bonds rose, while gold resumed its trudge
toward $1,300 per ounce and
oil fluctuated.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be among the officials addressing this year’s installment of the annual conference hosted by the Kansas City Fed. The summit, held at a Wyoming mountain retreat, comes as central banks in advanced economies grapple with ending years of unprecedented monetary easing, even as stubbornly tepid inflation clouds the outlook. “The key event this week is the Jackson Hole central bank policy forum which begins on Thursday,” Citigroup strategists including Peter Goves wrote in a note to clients.
“The market spotlight will likely focus on Yellen, given the generally low US inflation environment and the likelihood of Fed balance sheet reduction occurring relatively soon.”
OPEC’s full technical committee meets in Vienna on Monday. Amazon.com Inc.’s bid for Whole Foods Market Inc. faces a shareholder vote on Wednesday. Combined sales of new (data Wednesday) and previously owned (Thursday) US homes probably edged up in July from the prior month, indicating a still robust real estate market held in check by rising property prices, economists forecast. A verdict in the graft trial of Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee is due Friday.
Botswana, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Tunisia set monetary policy. A raft of survey data will probably show euro-area growth slowed in the third quarter. On Tuesday, Germany’s ZEW survey is due and the August figures are forecast to have weakened slightly. Preliminary August PMIs come Wednesday, with France and euro-area readings expected to slip from July, while Germany is forecast to hold steady. The annual Jackson Hole economic symposium begins on Thursday.
The pound could be vulnerable this week as the UK publishes five new position papers for upcoming Brexit negotiations and with the consumption and services components of GDP figures Thursday susceptible to possible revisions.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.1 percent as of 8:34 a.m. in New York. Futures on the S&P 500 Index declined less than 0.05 percent. The MSCI All-Country World Index advanced less than 0.05 percent. Germany’s DAX Index tumbled 0.4 percent.
The UK’s FTSE 100 Index climbed less than 0.05 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index added 0.2 percent.
The euro advanced 0.1 percent to $1.1768. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined less than
0.1 percent. The British pound climbed 0.1 percent to $1.2884.
The Japanese yen increased 0.2
percent to 109.01 per dollar,
the strongest in almost four months on a closing basis.