Stock market today: Asian markets mostly lower as worries over Russia-Ukraine war loom
HONG KONG — Asian shares were mostly lower on Tuesday despite gains on Wall Street as concerns mounted escalation of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
U.S. futures edged higher while oil prices were little changed.
On Tuesday, Ukraine fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles at Russia, according to the official, marking the first such use in nearly a thousand days of war. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally agreed lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.5% to 38,242.35 after the Finance Ministry reported that the country trade deficit in October, for the fourth month in a row. Exports rose 3.1% from a year earlier, as the weak yen and rising energy prices kept import costs high. A trade deficit occurs when the country imports more goods and services than it exports.
The Chinese central bank has announced that it will leave its key interest rates unchanged after cutting the interest rate on one-year loans to 3.1% in October. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.1% to 19,641.05, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 3,364.54.
The Australian S&The P/ASX 200 fell 0.5% to 8,330.70. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7% to 2,488.83.
On Tuesday the S&The P500 rose 0.4% to 5,916.98, after erasing an early 0.7% decline. The Nasdaq composite also erased an early loss to trade 1% higher at 18,987.47, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 43,268.94.
Nvidias The 4.9% increase accounted for most of the index’s gains. The chip company’s shares rose ahead of its latest quarter earnings report, due later Wednesday, boosting its profit for the year to nearly 197% on the back of craze around artificial intelligence technology.
Concerns over the conflict between Ukraine and Russia have prompted investors to invest in US government bonds, which are considered one of the safest investments in the world. The rise in their prices in turn lowered their yields, with 10-year Treasury yields falling to 4.39% from 4.41% late Monday.
Gold also rose 0.6% and recovered some of its price losses the country suffered after Donald Trump’s victory during the US presidential election, when investors flocked to places traditionally considered safer in times of trouble.
Walmart rose 3% after beating expectations for both profit and revenue. The country’s largest retailer said it saw broad strength across its categories, including sales both online and in stores. The company also said it served more higher-income households while raising its full-year revenue and profit expectations.
Lowe’s also posted higher profit and revenue in the last quarter than analysts expected, but its shares nevertheless fell 4.6%. A report this morning said construction crews delivered fewer new homes last month than economists expected, and rival Home Depot fell 0.9%.
Other major companies set to release their latest quarterly results this week include Target on Wednesday and Deere & Co on Thursday.
In other trades early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude fell 3 cents lower to $69.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, lost 5 cents to $73.26 a barrel.
The dollar rose from 154.54 yen to 155.06 Japanese yen. The euro fell from $1.0598 to $1.0590.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.