BANGKOK (AP) – Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday, with Hong Kong’s benchmark stocks down more than 4% as Wall Street hit a new record.
U.S. futures rose slightly as oil prices fell by more than $3 a barrel.
Chinese stocks extended their declines late Monday after the government said export growth fell sharply in September, reinforcing signs of economic weakness.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.5% to 3,201.29, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 4.4% to 20,166.88.
Weaker-than-expected data on lending and prices weakened already fragile market sentiment as investors awaited new details on government stimulus measures to revive the economy.
IG’s Yep Jun Long said: “While market participants continue to seek clarity on fiscal stimulus from Chinese authorities, the lack of commitment remains a factor in holding off on risk-taking in Chinese stocks.” I mentioned it in the commentary.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8% to 39,910.55, while Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,633.45.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% to 8,318.40.
The dollar also fell to 149.22 yen from 149.83 yen early Tuesday. The euro fell from $1.0911 to $1.0894.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $3.05 to $70.78 per barrel. The international standard Brent crude oil fell by $3.16 to $74.30 per barrel.
Besides oil, prices for copper and other commodities that a healthy Chinese economy would feed off have also fallen.
On Monday, Wall Street hit yet another all-time high.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to close at 5,859.85, breaking a record set on Friday. They have won five consecutive weeks and are currently breaking the record for the longest weekly winning streak of the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to $43,065.22, adding 201 points to its record. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 18,502.69.
U.S. bond markets remained closed for the day due to the holiday, but rose after relatively quiet trading in Europe.
Boeing fell 1.3% in the first session after the aerospace giant warned it would burn through $1.3 billion in cash and report a loss of $9.97 per share in the latest quarter. Boeing also announced it would lay off 10% of its workforce in response to a labor strike that has devastated production of its best-selling aircraft.
There have been few major economic reports this week, aside from Thursday’s update on U.S. retail sales. This puts the focus on corporate earnings reports this week, after major banks started their earnings reporting season last week.
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Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group will all report their latest financial results on Tuesday. Later this week, United Airlines, Netflix, American Express and Procter & Gamble will appear.
Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to post 4.1% overall year-over-year growth in earnings per share in the latest quarter, according to FactSet. If they’re right, it will be the fifth consecutive quarter of growth.
Stocks have broadly rallied on relief that interest rates are finally trending lower as the Federal Reserve broadens its focus beyond combating high inflation to keeping the economy strong. .
Recent reports indicating that the U.S. economy continues to perform better than expected also suggests that the Fed may be able to achieve the perfect landing of bringing inflation down to 2% without causing the recession that many thought was necessary. There is also a growing sense of optimism that it can be achieved.
