Current:Home > FinanceStock market today: Asian stocks gain ahead of US and Japan rate decisions-LoTradeCoin
Stock market today: Asian stocks gain ahead of US and Japan rate decisions
View Date:2024-12-24 00:11:52
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks advanced Monday ahead of policy decisions this week by Japan’s central bank and the Federal Reserve.
Oil prices and U.S. futures rose.
Chinese data for January-February were mixed, with property investment falling while other indicators showed improvement.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.7% to 39,740.44. Markets are awaiting a decision by the Bank of Japan on Tuesday on whether to raise its benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years. Since 2016, the rate has remained at minus 0.1%.
Signs that employers plan solid wage hikes appear to have swayed the central bank toward finally easing away from the massive monetary easing employed over many years to try to spur growth in a country where the population is quickly falling and aging.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.1% higher to 16,775.55, and the Shanghai Composite index gained 1% to 3,084.93.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 7,675.80, while the Kospi in South Korea advanced 0.7%, to 2,685.84.
In India, the Sensex added 0.2% and in Bangkok the SET was up 0.3%.
On Friday, Wall Street closed out its second straight losing week, giving back some of the gains that helped push the stock market to an all-time high earlier in the week.
The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 5,117.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 38,714.77, while the Nasdaq composite ended 1% lower at 15,973.17.
Technology stocks retreated. Software maker Adobe slumped 13.7% after giving investors a weak revenue forecast. Microsoft fell 2.1% and Broadcom lost 2.1%.
Communication services stocks also helped pull the market lower. Meta Platforms fell 1.6% and Google parent Alphabet fell 1.3%.
The latest pullback for stocks came as traders reviewed several reports showing that inflation, though broadly cooling, remains stubborn.
A closely-watched report from the University of Michigan showed that consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in March.
Inflation remains the big concern for Wall Street amid hopes for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates. The Fed sharply raised interest rates starting in 2022 in an effort to tame inflation back to its 2% target. Inflation at the consumer level was as high as 9.1% in 2022.
A report on consumer prices last week showed inflation remains stubborn, ticking up to 3.2% in February from 3.1% in January. Another report on prices at the wholesale level also showed inflation remains hotter than Wall Street expected.
Other reports this week showed some softening in the economy, which bolstered hopes for a continued long-term easing of inflation.
A rally for stocks that started in October has essentially stalled this month as investors puzzle over the path ahead for inflation, the Fed and the economy.
Fed officials will give their latest forecasts for where they see interest rates heading this year on Wednesday, following their latest policy meeting. Traders are still leaning toward a rate cut in June, according to data from CME Group. The Fed’s main rate remains at its highest level since 2001.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 56 cents to $81.60 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 53 cents to $85.87 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 149.17 Japanese yen from 149.03 yen. The euro cost $1.0894, up from $1.0887.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- To Protect the Ozone Layer and Slow Global Warming, Fertilizers Must Be Deployed More Efficiently, UN Says
- Anderson Cooper on the rise and fall of the Astor fortune
- A homeless man living on national forest land was shot by federal police. He's now suing
- The Plain Bagel Rule: How naked bread is the ultimate test of a bakery
- Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn Coming Out of Retirement at 40
- Stock market today:
- Here's what not to do when you open a 401(k)
- Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez Officially File for Divorce After 2 Years of Marriage
- Larry Hobbs, who guided AP’s coverage of Florida news for decades, has died at 83
- Do air purifiers work? Here's what they do, and an analysis of risks versus benefits
Ranking
- Mike Tyson is expected to honor late daughter during Jake Paul fight. Here's how.
- 1 dead in Maine after Lee brought strong winds, heavy rain to parts of New England
- Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett, with game-winning catch, again shows his quiet greatness
- In Miami, It’s No Coincidence Marginalized Neighborhoods Are Hotter
- Video shows Starlink satellite that resembled fireball breaking up over the Southwest: Watch
- Military searching for F-35 fighter jet after mishap prompts pilot to eject over North Charleston, S.C.
- Bear euthanized after intestines blocked by paper towels, food wrappers, other human waste
- Allow Anne Hathaway to Re-frame Your Idea of Aging
Recommendation
-
College Football Playoff bracket: Complete playoff picture after latest rankings
-
UAW strike, Trump's civil trial in limbo, climate protests: 5 Things podcast
-
Irish Grinstead, member of R&B girl group 702, dies at 43: 'Bright as the stars'
-
A truck-bus collision in northern South Africa leaves 20 dead, most of them miners going to work
-
Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands
-
Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett, with game-winning catch, again shows his quiet greatness
-
Trial in Cyprus for 5 Israelis accused of gang raping a British woman is to start Oct. 5
-
CBS News Biden-Trump poll finds concerns about Biden finishing a second term, and voters' finances also weigh on Biden