Global stocks take breather as focus turns to central banks

Tuesday,   12-Dec-2017   04:50 PM (IST)

Wall Street managed to shrug off a terror incident in New York city’s Times Square with the S&P and Dow closing at new record highs. But U.S. futures pointed to a cautious open on Tuesday as traders opted to refrain from bigger moves higher ahead at the start of the Fed’s two-day meeting.The blue-chip Dow futures edged forward 17 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 futures inched up less than a point, or 0.01%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 1 point, or 0.01%.European equities showed cautious gains as market participants prepared for local monetary decisions from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday. The benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 0.18%, but Germany’s DAX wavered around the unchanged mark, while London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.28%.Earlier, Asian shares took a small step back gaining for three straight sessions, with markets consolidating in the hope an upswing in global growth could outlast a likely hike in U.S. interest rates this week.