(Adds close of U.S. markets)
* U.S. stocks eke out new records before closing mixed
* U.S. President Trump faces impeachment vote
* Dollar gains as Fed rate cut in 2020 seems unlikely
* German business sentiment rises in December
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The dollar gained on Wednesday
as improving economic data squashed the likelihood of a Federal
Reserve interest rate cut in 2020, while a rally in global
equity markets wavered as financials shares slipped.
Gold eased, tugged lower by a firmer dollar that has found
support from mounting expectations the Fed will not cut rates
anytime soon.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
closed down 0.05%, trading modestly higher for most of the
session after declining overnight in Asia. Emerging market
stocks rose 0.60%, with Brazil's Bovespa index hitting a record
high. European shares traded mixed as gains in Swedish truck maker
Volvo and defensive sectors offset worries about a hard Brexit,
which continued to pressure British mid-cap shares. Most regional bourses in Europe hovered around lows touched
on Tuesday, when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson set a hard
deadline of December 2020 to reach a new trade deal over
Britain's exit from the European Union. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost
0.13%. There are jitters regarding the Phase One U.S.-China trade
deal as it has yet to be signed, said Sebastien Galy, senior
macro strategist at Nordea Asset Management in Luxembourg.
"We are in a wait-and-see mode, momentum has been strong and
should continue into year end," Galy said.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq clawed to record highs, with Nasdaq
posting an all-time closing high. Hopes for a U.S.-China trade
deal had propelled the two indexes to record closing levels for
four straight sessions. Shares of FedEx Corp's FDX.N fell 10% after the package
delivery company issued its second warning for fiscal 2020
profit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 27.88 points,
or 0.1%, to 28,239.28. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.38 points, or
0.04%, to 3,191.14 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 4.38
points, or 0.05%, to 8,827.74.
Expectations the Fed will cut rates from the current 1.5% to
1.75% range are a mere 2.2% for the U.S. central bank's January
meeting, 4.3% for March and 12% for April, according to CME
Group's FedWatch tool. The FedWatch tool shows a 50% chance that
rates will remain at current levels through December 2020.
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.19%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.31% to $1.1114. The Japanese yen JPY= weakened 0.10%
versus the greenback at 109.60 per dollar. U.S. Treasury yields were steady as investors shrugged off
the likely impeachment in the lower house of Congress of U.S.
President Donald Trump on charges of abusing his office and
obstructing a congressional probe.
Separate votes on the two charges are expected in the early
evening. The votes are expected to fall almost entirely along
party lines, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR fell
11/32 in price to lift its yield to 1.9274%.
Yields on European government debt edged higher as the
market bet negative rates are not here forever with Sweden's
central bank set to move away from negative rates on Thursday,
Galy said. German business morale rose more than expected in December
to a six-month high, the Ifo survey showed on Wednesday,
suggesting that Europe's largest economy picked up steam in the
fourth quarter. The yield on the German 10-year bund DE10YT=RR rose almost
4 basis points to -0.251%.
Oil prices steadied after U.S. government data showed a
decline in crude inventories and on expectations for an uptick
in demand next year on the back of progress in resolving the
U.S.-China trade fight.
Brent futures LCOc1 gained 7 cents to settle at $66.17 a
barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 settled
down 1 cent at $60.93 a barrel.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 inched down 0.1% to settle at
$1,478.70 an ounce.
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GRAPHIC-MSCI's World Stock Index https://tmsnrt.rs/34CG1Nn
GRAPHIC-Global assets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
GRAPHIC-World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
GRAPHIC-MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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