HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong stocks led gains in Asian markets on Tuesday, although Chinese real estate developer Vanke fell more than 10% as investors assessed economic data from South Korea and Australia.
Oil prices rose while US futures fell.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3% to 39,936.35, recovering from Monday’s losses.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.7% to 16,981.43, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 3,080.51.
Vanke’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 11.4% in early trading on Tuesday after the company last week announced a sharp decline in 2023 core profit of 50.6% and no dividend. In March, China made an unprecedented intervention by requesting banks to provide financing support to Vanke.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.1% to 2,750.63 after data showed consumer prices rose 3.1% year-on-year in March, matching the previous month’s pace.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose less than 0.1% to 7,900.50, the fastest pace since May 2020, even as the manufacturing sector index fell from 47.8 in February to 47.3 in March. became.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index fell 0.2% from its all-time high to close Monday at 5,243.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% from its all-time high to $39,566.85. The Nasdaq Composite was an outlier, rising 0.1% to 16,396.83.
FedEx fell 3.3% after it announced it would not extend its contract with the U.S. Postal Service for domestic air cargo deliveries, which ends Sept. 29. Donald Trump’s social media company Trump Media & Technology Group has lost more than a fifth of its stock value. The value of another day of frenzied trading.
Universal Health Services fell 4%, one of the biggest losses in the S&P 500 index. An Illinois jury has awarded $535 million in damages to a patient who claimed negligence in a sexual assault case involving another patient.
Newmont was instrumental in limiting the number of goals conceded. The company’s stock rose 1.6% as gold prices continued to set records.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields soared after reports that U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly returned to growth last month. According to the Supply Management Association, the economic slump that lasted 16 months has ended.
This is the latest evidence that the U.S. economy remains strong despite high interest rates. This is good for the stock market because it can help companies increase their profits. However, there is a possibility that upward pressure on inflation will continue. That could mean further hesitation from the Federal Reserve in cutting interest rates, which investors desperately need.
The manufacturing data caused Wall Street traders to temporarily scale back bets on a first rate cut, expected as early as June. Deutsche Bank economists say this remains a “reasonable baseline” expectation, but recent tough comments from Fed officials could mean that interest rates will remain higher for longer than previously thought. It is said that there is.
The Fed raised its key policy rate to its highest level since 2001 in an effort to slow the economy and push investment prices down enough to curb inflation. Expectations for future interest rate cuts are the main reason the S&P 500 index soared more than 20% from October to March.
Several economic reports are expected to be released this week that could sway the Fed’s thinking, including updates on job openings across the country and the strength of the U.S. service sector. The headliner will be released on Friday, when economists expect a report to show that employment cooled slightly last month.
The slowdown will be welcomed on Wall Street. The economy is expected to remain strong, but not strong enough to push up inflation. Inflation has moderated since its peak about two years ago. But recent progress has been more erratic, with hotter-than-expected reports this year.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 40 cents to $84.11 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added 34 cents to $87.76 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 151.66 yen from 151.63 yen. The euro fell to $1.0735 from $1.0743.
Zimo Zhong, Associated Press
