Stock market today: Asian shares fall after Wall Street posted its worst week in a decade

HONG KONG — Major Asian stock markets retreated on Monday after Wall Street recorded its worst week since Halloween.

U.S. futures were lower even after congressional leaders reached an agreement on overall spending levels for the current fiscal year, which could help avert a partial government shutdown later this month.

Oil prices fell after Saudi Arabia on Sunday cut oil prices for Asian markets to the lowest level in 27 months.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.9% to 16,187.00, led by technology stocks, which fell 2.4%. The Shanghai Composite index fell 1.2% to 2,894.58.

China on Sunday announced sanctions against five U.S. defense-related companies in response to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and U.S. sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals. The announcement was made less than a week ahead of Taiwan's presidential elections, which focus on the self-governing island's relationship with China, which claims it as its own territory.

In South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.2% to 2,572.41, and the Australian S&The P/ASX 200 lost 0.5% to 7,453.40.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.5%, while Bangkok's SET fell 0.5%.

The markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.

Investors are awaiting inflation reports from Japan, the US and China later this week.

Friday on Wall Street, the S&The P500 rose 0.2% to 4,697.24 after swinging between small gains and losses throughout the day. It capped the index's first losing week in the last decade, having ushered in 2024 on hopes that inflation and the overall economy will cool enough for the Federal Reserve to cut rates sharply throughout the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 37,466.11 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% to 14,524.07.

Government bond yields fell sharply on the bond market as a result of the economic news. They initially rose after the latest monthly jobs report showed U.S. employers unexpectedly accelerated hiring last month. The average hourly wage of workers also rose, while economists had predicted a dip.

Such strong numbers are good news for workers, and they should keep the economy going. That is positive for corporate profits, which are one of the most important factors determining share prices.

But Wall Street's concern is that the strong data could also provide assurance that the Federal Reserve's upward pressure on inflation remains. That, in turn, could mean that the Fed will keep rates high for longer than expected. Interest rates influence the other major drivers of stock prices, with high interest rates hurting financial markets.

The jobs report briefly forced traders to push back their forecasts for when the Fed might start cutting rates. But another report on Friday showed that growth in the financial sector, real estate sector and other companies in the US services sector slowed more than economists expected last month.

Overall, the numbers could boost Wall Street's hopes for a perfect landing for the economy, one in which high interest rates slow the economy just enough to eradicate high inflation, but not so much that it triggers a recession causes.

After rising to 4.09% immediately after the jobs report, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.96% after the weaker-than-expected services report. Ultimately, the price fell to 4.04%, compared to 4.00% at the end of Thursday.

On Wall Street, Constellation Brands climbed 2.1% after the seller of Corona and Modelo beers in the United States reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

On the losing side was Apple, whose 0.4% dip Friday saw a weekly loss of 5.9%, its worst since September. It's a sharp turnaround from last year, when the market's most influential stocks rose more than 48%.

In other trades, U.S. benchmark crude fell 83 cents to $72.98 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 87 cents to $77.89 a barrel.

The US dollar fell from 144.59 yen to 144.49 Japanese yen. The euro fell to $1.0933 from $1.0945 late Friday.