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Stock Market Today: Asian Stocks Ignore Latest Wall Street Defeat as Chinese Industrial Activity Weakens.
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Asian stocks rose on Friday as investors shrugged off yet another drop in Wall Streetwhile an official survey showed a weakening Chinese manufacturing activity.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% to 38,119.96 as reports circulated about plans for major investments by government-backed pension funds and other large institutional investors.
Financial media outlet Nikkei said Japan is preparing to put almost 100 billion yen ($638 billion) more public money into the markets, following the example of the Government Pension Investment Fund.
Chinese stocks rose despite the survey showing more pressure on an economy already burdened by a prolonged crisis in the property industry. But negative indicators often fuel speculation that they will lead Beijing to counter growth-friendly policies.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.2% to 18,446.05 and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.3% to 3,099.72.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 7,668.90 and the Kospi in Seoul gained 0.4% to 2,646.44
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.9% as shares of the market’s biggest heavyweight, computer chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., fell 2%, tracking declines in other major technology companies.
This followed Nvidia’s 3.8% drop on Thursday after massive gains driven by Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial intelligence technology.
Nvidia’s loss helped drag the Nasdaq index down 1.1%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%, although most stocks within the index and on Wall Street were higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%.
Friday will bring a monthly update on an inflation gauge that the Federal Reserve prefer to use. The end of earnings reports is another market driver. Profits were largely better than expected for early 2024.
Helping to support the market on Thursday were better-than-expected earnings reports from a number of companies. Best Buy beat forecasts even though its revenue fell short last quarter and its shares rose 13.4%. Foot Locker rose 15% after also reporting better-than-expected profit despite reporting sales below analyst forecasts.
Stocks also got a general boost as Treasury yields in the bond market eased, providing relief after rising earlier this week on concerns about weak demand for Treasury bonds following several U.S. government auctions. Higher yields put downward pressure on all types of investments.
Yields fell on Thursday after some reports showed that the US economy is not as strong as expected.
A report showed that more U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected, although the number of layoffs still remains low compared to history. Another suggested that the overall growth of the US economy may not have been as strong as previously thought.
A slowdown in the economy could give the Federal Reserve more confidence that inflation is falling sustainably toward its 2% target. That, in turn, could convince him to cut the federal funds rate, which is at its highest level in more than two decades.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.54% from 4.62% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, fell to 4.92% from 4.98%.
Among other gainers, C3.ai jumped 19.4% after the software company beat profit and revenue expectations in the latest quarter. HP gained 17% after beating previous earnings forecasts.
Many retailers are also releasing reports, as they do at the close of each earnings season, and scrutiny is heightened due to concerns about whether American families will be able to continue spending. Still high inflation is hurting them, especially those with lower incomes.
In other trading Friday morning, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 28 cents to $77.63 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 21 cents to $81.67 per barrel.
The US dollar fell to 156.78 Japanese yen from 156.82 yen. The euro fell from $1.0834 to $1.0822.