BANGKOK– Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday after a seven-week winning streak on Wall Street cooled.
US futures were flat and oil prices were little changed.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.4% to 33,219.39 after the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged as expected. The dollar rose against the yen, rising from 142.79 to 143.75 yen.
The S&Sydney's P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% to 7,489.10, while South Korea's Kospi edged 0.1% higher to 2,568.55.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1% to 16,469.32 and the Shanghai Composite index gained less than 0.1% to 2,932.39.
Bangkok's SET fell 0.2%, while Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.4%.
On Monday the S&The P 500 rose 0.5% to 4,740.56 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6% to 14,904.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished nearly flat after paring most of its 0.2% gain by late afternoon, closing at 37,306.02.
Retailers and major technology companies were among the big winners. Amazon.com rose 2.7% and Etsy climbed 4.7% for the biggest gain among S&P500 shares.
Chipmaker Nvidia rose 2.4%, while Meta added 2.9% and Netflix closed 3% higher.
Energy companies also recovered as crude oil prices rose more than $1 amid growing concerns about attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea. Oil and natural gas giant BP has joined the growing list of companies that have halted deliveries on the main trade route.
US Steel rose 26.1% after it agreed to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel. The Pittsburgh steelmaker played a key role in the country's industrialization. The all-cash deal is valued at approximately $14.1 billion, or $14.9 billion including debt. That's almost double what was offered by rival Cleveland Cliffs four months ago.
Investors had to assess several other corporate buyout updates. Photoshop maker Adobe rose 2.5% after announcing it is ending its planned $20 billion acquisition of Figma.
The broader market rose last week, adding to solid gains in December after the Federal Reserve indicated inflation has cooled enough for the central bank to cut rates in 2024. The Dow Jones closed last week with a record, while the S&The P500 ended the week with its longest weekly winning streak in six years as it edged closer to its all-time high.
The benchmark S&The P 500 is now up more than 23% this year, while the Nasdaq is up more than 42%.
Lower interest rates generally take the pressure off the financial markets. The Fed's goal since 2022 has been to slow the economy and lower investment prices enough through high interest rates to get inflation under control. Economic growth has slowed but has not entered recession, while inflation continues to decline.
Wall Street is betting that these conditions mean the Fed is done raising interest rates and could start cutting them in early 2024. Investors will get their last major inflation update of the year on Friday, when the government releases its report on personal consumption expenditure. It is the Fed's preferred inflation measure and has been easing since mid-2022.
Analysts polled by FactSet expect inflation to moderate from 3% in October to 2.8% in November.
Investors will also need to watch some big earnings reports this week, which could give them a better idea of how businesses and consumers are faring amid high interest rates and persistent inflation. Package delivery service FedEx reports its latest financial results on Tuesday and Cheerios maker General Mills reports its results on Wednesday. Athletic shoe giant Nike will announce its latest results on Thursday.
Early Tuesday, the interest rate on the 10-year government bond fell from 3.95% at the end of Monday to 3.91%.
U.S. benchmark crude fell 12 cents to $72.70 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3 cents to $77.98 a barrel.
The euro rose to $1.0941 from $1.0925 late Monday.