Bangkok Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday as China said factory production slowed in May and the property market remained sluggish.
U.S. futures were down slightly and oil prices also fell.
In Tokyo, shares fell 1.9% to 38,070.40, while in Seoul the KOSPI lost 0.5% to 2,744.63. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 7,712.90.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1% to 17,960.09, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 3,015.95.
China’s factory output fell 5.6% in May, government data showed, less than analysts expected and slowing from 6.7% growth in the previous month. Retail sales rose just 4.1% in the first five months of the year.
Overshadowing these lackluster figures, property investment fell 10% in May from a year earlier, while house prices in major cities fell 3.2%.
Property sales plunged 30.5% year-on-year, further evidence that a series of measures to turn around the ailing real estate sector have yet to have an effect.
Most Southeast Asian markets were closed for public holidays, but Thailand’s SET fell 1.2 percent.
U.S. stocks hovered near all-time highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 down less than 0.1% to 5,431.60, the first time it has fallen to a new all-time high in the past week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 38,589.16, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1% to close at 17,688.88 from a record high hit the previous day, helped by gains in technology stocks.
In Europe, stock prices fell following elections that increased uncertainty about the region’s future.
The far-right’s victory has especially increased pressure on the French president, and investors worry it could weaken the European Union, stall fiscal planning and ultimately undermine France’s ability to repay its debt. Recent elections have also rattled markets in other countries, including Mexico and India.
France’s CAC 40 fell 2.7%, taking its weekly decline to 6.2% for its worst drop in more than two years, while Germany’s DAX fell 1.4%.
U.S. stocks are hitting new records on growing hopes that inflation is slowing and that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates later this year, while big technology stocks continue to soar with little regard for what’s happening in the economy or interest rates.
Adobe reported that its latest quarterly profit beat analyst expectations, sending its shares up 14.5%.
Broadcom Inc. rose 3.3% for a second straight day after it reported better-than-expected profits and announced a 10-for-1 stock split to make its shares more affordable. Nvidia Inc., a poster child for a rapid entry into artificial intelligence technology, rose 1.8% as its market capitalization rose further to more than $3 trillion.
A preliminary report from the University of Michigan suggested that U.S. consumer sentiment did not improve this month as economists had expected.
Rising mortgage rates are hurting the housing market as the Federal Reserve keeps its key interest rate at its highest in more than two decades. The central bank is artificially keeping interest rates high to slow the economy in an attempt to dry up the fuel for high inflation.
In other trading early Monday, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 30 cents to $77.75 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 30 cents to $82.32 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.52 yen from 157.39 yen. The euro fell to 1.0704 dollars from 1.0705 dollars.
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