Global Stock Markets React to Economic Indicators and Central Bank Decisions

Asian shares mostly fall after Wall Street snaps winning streak

TOKYO -- Asian shares mostly declined Wednesday following a slip on Wall Street that snapped an eight-day winning streak, the longest of the year. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% in morning trading to 37,741.53. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5% to 7,958.40. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,692.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.9% to 17,348.77, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 2,858.98. In Tokyo, Japan's Finance Ministry reported a 621 billion yen ($4.3 billion) trade deficit in July, as surging global prices pushed imports higher, growing nearly 17% from a year. Robust imports underlined better consumer spending amid rising wages. Japan's exports also grew, rising 10%, to destinations like the U.S. and China. Market watchers have their eyes on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speech later this week at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Expectations aren't high he will announce anything dramatic now, with nearly everyone expecting the Fed to cut interest rates next month. But markets are looking for signs of how big that cut might be. "We might get a read on how confident or otherwise the Fed is that inflation has been tamed, and from this, markets may project the size and scope of rate cuts we might expect to see between now and the end of next year," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. "The Fed chairman's take on the health of the jobs market will also be interesting to watch." On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Tuesday. The S%P 500 is still just 1.2% below its all-time high set last month. It has roared back from an earlier drop, at one point to nearly 10% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the market after falling 2.1%. The chip company is one of Wall Street's most influential stocks because a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology has made it one of the U.S. stock market's most valuable companies at roughly $3 trillion. Boeing also weighed on the market after sinking 4.2%. Federal safety officials are requiring inspections of cockpit seats on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Boeing also has stopped test flights of a new version of its 777 jetliner after discovering a damaged structural part. The new model has not yet been approved by regulators. Still, companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report their best growth in earnings per share since the end of 2021, according to FactSet. In the U.S., high interest rates have been weighing on the economy after the Federal Reserve hiked them sharply in order to get inflation under control. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.81% from 3.87% late Monday. All told, the S&P 500 slipped 11.13 points to 5,597.12. The Dow dipped 61.56 to 40,834.97, and the Nasdaq fell 59.83 to 17,816.94. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 33 cents to $74.04 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 5 cents to $77.15 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 145.44 Japanese yen from 145.13 yen. The euro cost $1.1122, down from $1.1132. Rate raises by Japan's central bank helped set off losses for markets around the world because it forced hedge funds to abandon a popular trade, where they borrowed Japanese yen cheaply and invested it elsewhere. That included the worst day for Japan's stock market since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The Bank of Japan since allayed market jitters by signaling future moves will be gradual. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed. Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama

Asian shares mostly fall after Wall Street snaps winning streak

TOKYO (AP) -- Asian shares mostly declined Wednesday following a slip on Wall Street that snapped an eight-day winning streak, the longest of the year. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% in morning trading to 37,741.53. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5% to 7,958.40. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,692.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.9% to 17,348.77, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 2,858.98. In Tokyo, Japan's Finance Ministry reported a 621 billion yen ($4.3 billion) trade deficit in July, as surging global prices pushed imports higher, growing nearly 17% from a year. Robust imports underlined better consumer spending amid rising wages. Japan's exports also grew, rising 10%, to destinations like the U.S. and China. Market watchers have their eyes on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speech later this week at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Expectations aren't high he will announce anything dramatic now, with nearly everyone expecting the Fed to cut interest rates next month. But markets are looking for signs of how big that cut might be. "We might get a read on how confident or otherwise the Fed is that inflation has been tamed, and from this, markets may project the size and scope of rate cuts we might expect to see between now and the end of next year," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. "The Fed chairman's take on the health of the jobs market will also be interesting to watch." On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Tuesday. The S%P 500 is still just 1.2% below its all-time high set last month. It has roared back from an earlier drop, at one point to nearly 10% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the market after falling 2.1%. The chip company is one of Wall Street's most influential stocks because a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology has made it one of the U.S. stock market's most valuable companies at roughly $3 trillion. Boeing also weighed on the market after sinking 4.2%. Federal safety officials are requiring inspections of cockpit seats on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Boeing also has stopped test flights of a new version of its 777 jetliner after discovering a damaged structural part. The new model has not yet been approved by regulators. Still, companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report their best growth in earnings per share since the end of 2021, according to FactSet. In the U.S., high interest rates have been weighing on the economy after the Federal Reserve hiked them sharply in order to get inflation under control. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.81% from 3.87% late Monday. All told, the S&P 500 slipped 11.13 points to 5,597.12. The Dow dipped 61.56 to 40,834.97, and the Nasdaq fell 59.83 to 17,816.94. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 33 cents to $74.04 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 5 cents to $77.15 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 145.44 Japanese yen from 145.13 yen. The euro cost $1.1122, down from $1.1132. Rate raises by Japan's central bank helped set off losses for markets around the world because it forced hedge funds to abandon a popular trade, where they borrowed Japanese yen cheaply and invested it elsewhere. That included the worst day for Japan's stock market since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The Bank of Japan since allayed market jitters by signaling future moves will be gradual. AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed. Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama

Asian markets mostly rise after Wall Street extends its winning streak to longest of the year

Asian stocks mostly rose Tuesday after Wall Street pushed closer to record highs following its roller coaster of a summer. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock index was up 2.1% to 38,156.41, recovering losses after a 1.8% drop the previous day. The yen briefly approached 145 against the U.S. dollar on Monday but then pulled back and traded at 146.94 on Tuesday. China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Tuesday, with the one-year loan prime rate at 3.35% and the five-year LPR at 3.85%. This came after a series of key interest rate cuts made last month that aimed to support the economy. The one-year LPR serves as the benchmark for most corporate loans, while the five-year LPR is a reference rate for mortgages. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.3% to 17,525.16, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.0% to 2,865.18. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,996.50 as the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting in August showed the board decided to leave the cash rate target steady at 4.35%, emphasizing that containing inflation remains their top priority. The RBA noted in the minutes it was "unlikely that the cash rate target would be reduced in the short term, and that it was not possible to either rule in or rule out future changes in the cash rate target." South Korea's Kospi jumped 0.8% to 2,695.32. U.S. futures were slightly higher while oil prices fell. On Monday, the S&P 500 rallied 1% for its eighth-straight gain and ended at 5,608.25. That clinched its longest winning streak since November and followed the index's best week of the year. It's back to within 1% of its all-time high after falling close to 10% below the mark earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 40,896.53, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4% to 17,876.77. Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of what's likely to be financial markets' main event for the week: a speech on Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The setting for the speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been home to some big policy announcements by the Fed in the past. Expectations aren't that high this time around, with nearly everyone already expecting the Fed will begin cutting interest rates next month. That would be the first such cut since the Fed began hiking rates drastically in early 2022, hoping to slow the economy by enough to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a recession. With inflation slowing from its peak above 9% two summers ago, Fed officials have already hinted cuts to rates are coming. The biggest question is whether the economy just needs the Federal Reserve to remove the brakes or if it needs more acceleration and deeper cuts. A surprisingly weak report on hiring by U.S. employers last month raised worries the Fed has already kept interest rates too high for too long. Such worries combined with concerns that Nvidia and other highly influential Big Tech stocks got too expensive amid the AI frenzy, along with other factors, to send markets globally through a scary couple weeks. That included the worst day for Japan's market since the Black Monday crash of 1987. But an ensuing assurance from the Bank of Japan on interest rates there has helped calm the market. Several recent reports on the U.S. economy have also come in stronger than expected, covering everything from inflation to sales at U.S. retailers, which bolstered optimism. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 3.87% from 3.88% late Friday. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 57 cents to $73.09 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 61 cents to $77.05 a barrel.

Asian Markets Mostly Rise After Wall Street Extends Its Winning Streak to Longest of the Year

Asian stocks mostly rose Tuesday after Wall Street pushed closer to record highs following its roller coaster of a summer. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock index was up 2.1% to 38,156.41, recovering losses after a 1.8% drop the previous day. The yen briefly approached 145 against the U.S. dollar on Monday but then pulled back and traded at 146.94 on Tuesday. China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Tuesday, with the one-year loan prime rate at 3.35% and the five-year LPR at 3.85%. This came after a series of key interest rate cuts made last month that aimed to support the economy. The one-year LPR serves as the benchmark for most corporate loans, while the five-year LPR is a reference rate for mortgages. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.3% to 17,525.16, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.0% to 2,865.18. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,996.50 as the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting in August showed the board decided to leave the cash rate target steady at 4.35%, emphasizing that containing inflation remains their top priority. The RBA noted in the minutes it was "unlikely that the cash rate target would be reduced in the short term, and that it was not possible to either rule in or rule out future changes in the cash rate target." South Korea's Kospi jumped 0.8% to 2,695.32. U.S. futures were slightly higher while oil prices fell. On Monday, the S&P 500 rallied 1% for its eighth-straight gain and ended at 5,608.25. That clinched its longest winning streak since November and followed the index's best week of the year. It's back to within 1% of its all-time high after falling close to 10% below the mark earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 40,896.53, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4% to 17,876.77. Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of what's likely to be financial markets' main event for the week: a speech on Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The setting for the speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been home to some big policy announcements by the Fed in the past. Expectations aren't that high this time around, with nearly everyone already expecting the Fed will begin cutting interest rates next month. That would be the first such cut since the Fed began hiking rates drastically in early 2022, hoping to slow the economy by enough to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a recession. With inflation slowing from its peak above 9% two summers ago, Fed officials have already hinted cuts to rates are coming. The biggest question is whether the economy just needs the Federal Reserve to remove the brakes or if it needs more acceleration and deeper cuts. A surprisingly weak report on hiring by U.S. employers last month raised worries the Fed has already kept interest rates too high for too long. Such worries combined with concerns that Nvidia and other highly influential Big Tech stocks got too expensive amid the AI frenzy, along with other factors, to send markets globally through a scary couple weeks. That included the worst day for Japan's market since the Black Monday crash of 1987. But an ensuing assurance from the Bank of Japan on interest rates there has helped calm the market. Several recent reports on the U.S. economy have also come in stronger than expected, covering everything from inflation to sales at U.S. retailers, which bolstered optimism. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 3.87% from 3.88% late Friday. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 57 cents to $73.09 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 61 cents to $77.05 a barrel. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Asian Shares Mostly Fall After Wall Street Snaps Winning Streak

TOKYO (AP) -- Asian shares mostly declined Wednesday following a slip on Wall Street that snapped an eight-day winning streak, the longest of the year. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% in morning trading to 37,741.53. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5% to 7,958.40. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,692.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.9% to 17,348.77, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 2,858.98. In Tokyo, Japan's Finance Ministry reported a 621 billion yen ($4.3 billion) trade deficit in July, as surging global prices pushed imports higher, growing nearly 17% from a year. Robust imports underlined better consumer spending amid rising wages. Japan's exports also grew, rising 10%, to destinations like the U.S. and China. Market watchers have their eyes on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speech later this week at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Expectations aren't high he will announce anything dramatic now, with nearly everyone expecting the Fed to cut interest rates next month. But markets are looking for signs of how big that cut might be. "We might get a read on how confident or otherwise the Fed is that inflation has been tamed, and from this, markets may project the size and scope of rate cuts we might expect to see between now and the end of next year," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. "The Fed chairman's take on the health of the jobs market will also be interesting to watch." On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Tuesday. The S%P 500 is still just 1.2% below its all-time high set last month. It has roared back from an earlier drop, at one point to nearly 10% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the market after falling 2.1%. The chip company is one of Wall Street's most influential stocks because a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology has made it one of the U.S. stock market's most valuable companies at roughly $3 trillion. Boeing also weighed on the market after sinking 4.2%. Federal safety officials are requiring inspections of cockpit seats on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Boeing also has stopped test flights of a new version of its 777 jetliner after discovering a damaged structural part. The new model has not yet been approved by regulators. Still, companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report their best growth in earnings per share since the end of 2021, according to FactSet. In the U.S., high interest rates have been weighing on the economy after the Federal Reserve hiked them sharply in order to get inflation under control. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.81% from 3.87% late Monday. All told, the S&P 500 slipped 11.13 points to 5,597.12. The Dow dipped 61.56 to 40,834.97, and the Nasdaq fell 59.83 to 17,816.94. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 33 cents to $74.04 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 5 cents to $77.15 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 145.44 Japanese yen from 145.13 yen. The euro cost $1.1122, down from $1.1132. Rate raises by Japan's central bank helped set off losses for markets around the world because it forced hedge funds to abandon a popular trade, where they borrowed Japanese yen cheaply and invested it elsewhere. That included the worst day for Japan's stock market since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The Bank of Japan since allayed market jitters by signaling future moves will be gradual. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed. Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Asian markets mostly rise after Wall Street extends its winning streak to longest of the year

Asian stocks are mostly rising after Wall Street pushed closer to record highs following its roller coaster of a summer Asian stocks mostly rose Tuesday after Wall Street pushed closer to record highs following its roller coaster of a summer. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock index was up 2.1% to 38,156.41, recovering losses after a 1.8% drop the previous day. The yen briefly approached 145 against the U.S. dollar on Monday but then pulled back and traded at 146.94 on Tuesday. China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Tuesday, with the one-year loan prime rate at 3.35% and the five-year LPR at 3.85%. This came after a series of key interest rate cuts made last month that aimed to support the economy. The one-year LPR serves as the benchmark for most corporate loans, while the five-year LPR is a reference rate for mortgages. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.3% to 17,525.16, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.0% to 2,865.18. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,996.50 as the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting in August showed the board decided to leave the cash rate target steady at 4.35%, emphasizing that containing inflation remains their top priority. The RBA noted in the minutes it was "unlikely that the cash rate target would be reduced in the short term, and that it was not possible to either rule in or rule out future changes in the cash rate target." South Korea's Kospi jumped 0.8% to 2,695.32. U.S. futures were slightly higher while oil prices fell. On Monday, the S&P 500 rallied 1% for its eighth-straight gain and ended at 5,608.25. That clinched its longest winning streak since November and followed the index's best week of the year. It's back to within 1% of its all-time high after falling close to 10% below the mark earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 40,896.53, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4% to 17,876.77. Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of what's likely to be financial markets' main event for the week: a speech on Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The setting for the speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been home to some big policy announcements by the Fed in the past. Expectations aren't that high this time around, with nearly everyone already expecting the Fed will begin cutting interest rates next month. That would be the first such cut since the Fed began hiking rates drastically in early 2022, hoping to slow the economy by enough to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a recession. With inflation slowing from its peak above 9% two summers ago, Fed officials have already hinted cuts to rates are coming. The biggest question is whether the economy just needs the Federal Reserve to remove the brakes or if it needs more acceleration and deeper cuts. A surprisingly weak report on hiring by U.S. employers last month raised worries the Fed has already kept interest rates too high for too long. Such worries combined with concerns that Nvidia and other highly influential Big Tech stocks got too expensive amid the AI frenzy, along with other factors, to send markets globally through a scary couple weeks. That included the worst day for Japan's market since the Black Monday crash of 1987. But an ensuing assurance from the Bank of Japan on interest rates there has helped calm the market. Several recent reports on the U.S. economy have also come in stronger than expected, covering everything from inflation to sales at U.S. retailers, which bolstered optimism. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 3.87% from 3.88% late Friday. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 57 cents to $73.09 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 61 cents to $77.05 a barrel.

Asian shares mostly fall after Wall Street snaps winning streak

TOKYO (AP) -- Asian shares mostly declined Wednesday following a slip on Wall Street that snapped an eight-day winning streak, the longest of the year. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% in morning trading to 37,741.53. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5% to 7,958.40. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.1% to 2,692.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.9% to 17,348.77, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 2,858.98. In Tokyo, Japan's Finance Ministry reported a 621 billion yen ($4.3 billion) trade deficit in July, as surging global prices pushed imports higher, growing nearly 17% from a year. Robust imports underlined better consumer spending amid rising wages. Japan's exports also grew, rising 10%, to destinations like the U.S. and China. Market watchers have their eyes on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speech later this week at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Expectations aren't high he will announce anything dramatic now, with nearly everyone expecting the Fed to cut interest rates next month. But markets are looking for signs of how big that cut might be. "We might get a read on how confident or otherwise the Fed is that inflation has been tamed, and from this, markets may project the size and scope of rate cuts we might expect to see between now and the end of next year," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. "The Fed chairman's take on the health of the jobs market will also be interesting to watch." On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Tuesday. The S%P 500 is still just 1.2% below its all-time high set last month. It has roared back from an earlier drop, at one point to nearly 10% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the market after falling 2.1%. The chip company is one of Wall Street's most influential stocks because a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology has made it one of the U.S. stock market's most valuable companies at roughly $3 trillion. Boeing also weighed on the market after sinking 4.2%. Federal safety officials are requiring inspections of cockpit seats on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Boeing also has stopped test flights of a new version of its 777 jetliner after discovering a damaged structural part. The new model has not yet been approved by regulators. Still, companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report their best growth in earnings per share since the end of 2021, according to FactSet. In the U.S., high interest rates have been weighing on the economy after the Federal Reserve hiked them sharply in order to get inflation under control. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.81% from 3.87% late Monday. All told, the S&P 500 slipped 11.13 points to 5,597.12. The Dow dipped 61.56 to 40,834.97, and the Nasdaq fell 59.83 to 17,816.94. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 33 cents to $74.04 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 5 cents to $77.15 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 145.44 Japanese yen from 145.13 yen. The euro cost $1.1122, down from $1.1132. Rate raises by Japan's central bank helped set off losses for markets around the world because it forced hedge funds to abandon a popular trade, where they borrowed Japanese yen cheaply and invested it elsewhere. That included the worst day for Japan's stock market since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The Bank of Japan since allayed market jitters by signaling future moves will be gradual. ___ AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed. Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama