Global shares retreat in cautious trading

Global shares retreated, although moderately, in cautious trading Wednesday ahead of an earnings report from Nvidia that is seen as a bellwether for the recent craze for artificial intelligence technology.

France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.4% in early trading to 7,935.21. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2% to 23,136.63. Britain’s FTSE 100 inched down less than 0.1% to 9,546.90. US shares were set to be little changed with Dow futures unchanged at 46,184.00. S&P 500 futures gained 0.1% to 6,647.75.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to finish at 48,537.70. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.4% to 25,830.65, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,946.74. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 8,447.90, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.6% to 3,929.51. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.7%. Nvidia was due to report its earnings for the last quarter later in the day.

The most influential stock on Wall Street, Nvidia steers the direction of the S&P 500 some days.