HONG KONG — Asian shares were mostly lower on Friday as gains for Big Tech stocks helped US stock indexes regain much of their decline from the day before.
US futures and oil prices were higher.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2% to 39,523.55, while the dollar stood at 153.31 Japanese yen, close to a 34-year high of 153.32 yen it reached on Wednesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.9% to 16,766.61, and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.1% to 3,030.13. Chinese trade data for March will be released later today.
“The resilience of Asian equities is remarkable, especially given the stronger U.S. dollar and ongoing deflationary challenges from China,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, in a commentary.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,681.82 after the Bank of Korea kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50%.
The Australian S&The P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 7,788.10.
On Thursday the S&The P500 rose 0.7% to 5,199.06, recovering most of the earlier loss caused by concerns that interest rates could remain high for a while. The Nasdaq index rose 1.7% to a record 16,442.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which places less emphasis on technology, was the laggard. It fell less than 0.1% to 38,459.08.
Apple was the strongest force pushing the market higher, rising 4.3% to pare its year-to-date loss. Nvidia was hot on its heels as it continues to dabble in artificial intelligence technology. The chip company rose 4.1%, bringing its gain for the year to 83%. Amazon added 1.7%, setting a record after surpassing its previous record in 2021.
It’s a return to form from last year, when a handful of Big Tech stocks were responsible for the bulk of the market’s gains. This year the gains spread out. That is, until concerns about persistently high inflation sent a shiver through financial markets.
In the bond market, which has driven much of Wall Street’s action, Treasury yields remained relatively steady after a mixed set of data on inflation and the U.S. economy.
When and if the Federal Reserve will make the interest rate cuts traders desire is one of the key questions dominating Wall Street. After predicting at least six rate cuts this year, traders have since dramatically scaled back their expectations. A series of better-than-expected figures on inflation and the economy have raised fears that last year’s progress on inflation has stalled. Many traders now expect just two cuts in 2024, with some discussing the possibility of zero.
A report on Thursday showed that wholesale inflation last month was slightly lower than economists expected. That’s encouraging, but the data also showed that underlying inflation trends were closer to or slightly above forecasts. These figures eliminate the effects of fuel and some other prices that notoriously fluctuate, and economists say they can give a better idea of where inflation is headed.
A separate report shows that fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week. It is the latest signal that the labor market remains remarkably solid despite high interest rates.
On the bond market, the yield on ten-year government bonds rose from 4.55% at the end of Wednesday to 4.57%.
Benchmark U.S. crude added 74 cents to $85.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, by international standards, was 62 cents higher at $90.36 a barrel.
In currency trading, the euro cost $1.0678, down from $1.0731.