BEIJING—Global stock markets declined Friday ahead of U.S. inflation data that might influence a Federal Reserve decision on when to roll back economic stimulus.
London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong retreated.
Fed officials, due to meet next week, have said plans to wind down bond purchases and other stimulus that is boosting stock prices might be accelerated if necessary to cool inflation that hit a 30-year high in October.
Traders were “potentially taking some risks off the table” while they wait for November consumer price data, said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3 percent to 7,302.55 and Frankfurt’s DAX shed 0.4 percent to 15,576.18. The CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.6 percent to 6,969.04.
On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 was 0.1 percent higher. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up less than 0.1 percent.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.7 percent. The Dow slipped less than 1 point.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.2 percent to 3,666.35 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 1 percent to 28,437.77. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 1.1 percent to 23,995.72.
The Kospi in Seoul gave up 0.6 percent to 3,010.23 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was 0.4 percent lower at 7,353.50.
India’s Sensex lost 0.4 percent to 58,556.36. and New Zealand and Jakarta gained.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 had gained 3.6 percent this week after the chief White House medical adviser said the omicron variant might not be as dangerous as the earlier delta strain. That eased fears of more restrictions on travel and business.
Technology stocks and a mix of retailers and other companies that rely on direct consumer spending weighed the most on the S&P 500. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 3.4 percent, while Tesla slid 6.1 percent for the biggest drop in the index.
Travel-related companies slipped. Carnival Cruise Line fell 1.7 percent and United Airlines fell 1.8 percent.
Health-related stocks rose. Pfizer, which is touting the potential benefits of a vaccine booster against the omicron variant, rose 1.3 percent.
The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in 52 years.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained 6 cents to $71.00 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.42 on Thursday to $70.94. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, sank 7 cents to $74.35 per barrel in London. It lost $1.40 the previous session to $74.42.
The dollar gained to 113.58 yen from Thursday’s 113.48 yen. The euro gained to $1.1295 from $1.1289.
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