Asian shares mixed, Hong Kong stocks near 15-month low
People stand near an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
HONG KONG — Shares were mixed in Asian markets Monday after Wall Street returned to record heights Friday, while Hong Kong’s benchmark dropped nearly 3 percent, hovering near a 15-month low.
U.S. futures climbed, while oil prices dropped.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.7 percent to 36,580.00. The Bank of Japan started a two-day policy meeting on Monday, and was expected to keep its ultra-low interest rates unchanged.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 2.8 percent to 14,877.50. The index has shrunk more than 10 percent this year, its worst start to a year since 2016. The Shanghai Composite index was down 2.5 percent at 2,760.73.
China’s commercial banks kept their loan prime rate unchanged Monday amid downward pressure on the yuan, disappointing investors who anticipated measures to stimulate the economy. Last week, the People’s Bank of China surprised markets by keeping its medium-term lending facility rate unchanged.
READ: China keeps benchmark lending rates steady amid pressure on yuan
In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.4 percent to 2,476.14. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.8 percent to 7,476.60. In Bangkok, the SET was down 0.6 percent, while in Taiwan the Taiex gained 0.8 percent.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rallied 1.2 percent to its record of 4,839.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average set its own record a month earlier, and it gained 1.1 percent to 37,863.80. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.7 percent to 15,310.97.
Wall Street’s run-up was driven in part by hopes for rate cuts as U.S. inflation remained tame. Treasury yields have already relaxed significantly on expectations for rate cuts, and that helped the stock market’s rally accelerate sharply in November.
READ: Fed hopes, AI fever fuel S&P 500’s bull market
The Fed itself has hinted that rate cuts are coming, though some officials have indicated they may begin later than the market is hoping for.
Friday’s lift for Wall Street came with a big boost from technology stocks, something that’s become typical in its run higher.
Several chip companies rose for a second straight day after heavyweight chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. delivered a better forecast for revenue this year than analysts expected. Broadcom rose 5.9 percent, and Texas Instruments climbed 4 percent.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gave up 31 cents to $72.94 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 35 cents to $78.21 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar inched down to 148.09 Japanese yen from 148.14 yen. The euro cost $1.0904, up from $1.0897.
