Stock market today: Asian shares follow Wall Street gains, Hong Kong stocks near 15-month low
HONG KONG — Stocks rose in most Asian markets on Monday after Wall Street returned to record highs on Friday, while Hong Kong’s benchmark fell more than 2% to hover near a 15-month low.
US futures and oil prices rose.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 1.2% to 36,376.50. The Bank of Japan began a two-day policy meeting on Monday and was expected to leave ultra-low interest rates unchanged.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.1% to 14,982.50. The index has shrunk more than 10% this year, its worst start to a year since 2016. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.9% to 2,807.90.
Chinese commercial banks kept lending rates unchanged on Monday, putting downward pressure on the yuan, disappointing investors anticipating measures to stimulate the economy. Last week, the People’s Bank of China surprised markets by leaving medium-term loan rates unchanged.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.1% higher to 2,476.14. The Australian S&The P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 7,466.70. In Bangkok, the SET fell 0.8%, while in Taiwan the Taiex rose 0.6%.
On Friday the S&The P500 rose 1.2% to its record high of 4,839.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average set its own record a month earlier, rising 1.1% to 37,863.80. The Nasdaq index rose 1.7% to 15,310.97.
Wall Street’s rise was partly driven by hopes for rate cuts as US inflation remained subdued. Treasury yields have already eased significantly on expectations for rate cuts, helping to sharply accelerate the stock market’s rally in November.
The Fed itself has hinted that rate cuts are on the way, although some officials have indicated they may start later than the market is hoping for.
Friday’s Wall Street rise came with a big boost from technology stocks, something that has become emblematic of the bullish trend.
Several chip companies rose for the second day in a row after heavyweight chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. made a better sales forecast this year than analysts expected. Broadcom rose 5.9% and Texas Instruments rose 4%.
In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude added 9 cents to $73.34 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 2 cents to $78.58 a barrel.
The US dollar fell from 148.14 yen to 147.91 Japanese yen. The euro cost $1.0905, compared to $1.0897.