TOKYO (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed on Monday as benchmarks in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell after Beijing reported that the Chinese economy gained momentum last quarter.
Benchmarks were high in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul. Crude oil prices fell. Market watchers are watching closely for signs of inflationary pressures and the risk of a regional slowdown.
The second-largest economy grew at a pace of 3.9% for the year, up from 0.4% in the previous quarter, but still lost dozens as the country grappled with repeated city shutdowns to combat the virus outbreak. It was one of the slowest expansions of the year.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 27,029.83 in afternoon trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5% to 6,779.40. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9% to 2,232.59. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 6.3% to 15,185.93 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.9% to 2,982.50.
In China, Xi Jinping gave himself a third five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party. Xi has shown no signs of any plans to change the draconian “no coronavirus” strategy that has weighed on business and trade. He said there would be no change to his policy of straining relations with Washington and its Asian neighbors.
Futures in London’s FTSE 100 have dropped slightly after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would not run for Conservative Party leader. Former Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak is now a front-runner to replace Liz Truss. She resigned last week after her tax-cut economic package caused financial market turmoil.
Wall Street ended the week with a broad rally, with technology stocks, retailers and healthcare companies supporting a large part of the rally.
The S&P 500 rose 2.4% to 3,752.75, up 4.7% for the week. This is his biggest weekly gain since June.
The Dow rose 2.5% to close at 31,082.56 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.3%. The Russell 2000 index rose his 2.2% to close at 1,742.24.
Investors are looking to corporate earnings for clues about how inflation and rising interest rates are shaping the global economy.
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point at its November meeting. This is three times the size of the Fed’s normal move.
In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 148.93 yen from 147.65 yen. The Bank of Japan was reported to have stepped in on Friday to support the yen after the dollar climbed above the 150-yen level. Dollar fell after reported interventions. The euro fell from 98.62 cents to 98.47 cents.
The appreciation of the dollar against the yen and other currencies is pushing up import costs and debt service costs, increasing inflationary pressures in these countries.
In energy trading, US benchmark crude fell 83 cents to $84.22 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. International benchmark Brent crude fell 85 cents to $92.65 a barrel.
Yuri Kageyama on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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