Global stock markets marked time Monday as traders awaited key earnings reports, notably from chip giant Nvidia, amid concerns the US Federal Reserve could hold off on further rate cuts this year.

On Wall Street the Dow was flat two hours into the session while the tech-heavy Nasdaq had added a paltry 0.2 percent. The broader-based S&P 500 Index was off by just under of 0.1 percent.

Europe lacked inspiration with the DAX closing off 1.2 percent while London and Paris lost marginal ground.

Major Asian indices had earlier finished down amid simmering tensions between China and Japan which hit tourism and retail firms on Tokyo’s exchange.

Besides Nvidia, which was off 1.1 percent, US retailers including Home Depot, Target and Walmart are also set to release their earnings reports.

Those

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