FB lower even as it beats Q3 earnings forecasts

U.S. stock indexes closed modestly higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 hitting fresh records, and gains were subdued as Facebook shares fell in the wake of its quarterly earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.73 points, or 0.04%, to 35,756.88; the S&P 500 gained 8.31 points, or 0.18%, at 4,574.79; and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.01 points, or 0.06%, at 15,235.72.

European stocks hit a more-than two-month high on Tuesday, ending just below record levels as strong results from UBS, Reckitt Benckiser and others added to overall optimism about the third-quarter earnings season. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.8% to 475.74 points, its highest closing level since a record-high finish of 475.83 in August. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 1.0% and 0.8%, respectively. Focus will be on the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, where policymakers are set to meet amid soaring inflation expectations in the euro zone. The ECB has said the recent inflation surge will be transitory and has clearly indicated no policy tightening until it averages around its 2% target.

Asia Pacific stocks were mostly down on Wednesday morning as investors remained concerned about the risk from elevated inflation and the indebted real estate sector in China. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.027% while South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.73%. In Australia, the ASX 200 inched up 0.71% as the Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% in the third quarter of 2021. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 1.72%. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 1.14% while the Shenzhen Component fell 1.25%.

The Russian stock market, which started trading with multidirectional changes in indices, ended Tuesday in the red. The Moscow Exchange index fell by 0.45% – to 4235.87 points. The RTS index sank 0.17% to 1916.29 points.

Crude prices were near multi-year highs on Tuesday as market participants awaited the release of a weekly snapshot on U.S. inventories that gives an insight into demand against a global choke down on supply by the biggest oil producing countries. U.S. crude’s West Texas Intermediate benchmark settled up 89 cents, or 1.1%, at $84.65 per barrel. WTI hit a seven-year high of $85.41 on Monday. London-traded Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, settled up 41 cents, or 0.5%, at $86.40. Brent hit a three-year high of $86.70 in the previous session.