Asian Markets Mixed as Wall Street Hits Record Highs, Hong Kong’s Benchmark Drops
Shares in Asian markets were mixed on Monday, with Wall Street reaching record heights on Friday. However, Hong Kong’s benchmark dropped over 2 percent, remaining near a 15-month low. European markets, on the other hand, opened higher.
In early trading, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent to 7,434.81, Germany’s DAX increased by 0.4 percent to 16,635.19, and Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.7 percent to 7,510.86.
Meanwhile, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.7 percent to 36,546.95. The Bank of Japan started a two-day policy meeting on Monday and is expected to maintain its ultra-low interest rates.
However, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong experienced a significant drop of 2.3 percent to 14,961.18, marking its worst start to a year since 2016. The Shanghai Composite index also declined by 2.7 percent to 2,756.34.
China’s commercial banks decided to keep their loan prime rate unchanged on Monday, disappointing investors who were anticipating measures to stimulate the economy. Last week, the People’s Bank of China surprised markets by maintaining its medium-term lending facility rate.
In South Korea, the Kospi fell by 0.3 percent to 2,464.35, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced by 0.8 percent to 7,476.60. The SET in Bangkok was down 0.6 percent, but Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.8 percent.
On Friday, the S&P 500 reached a record high of 4,839.81, rallying by 1.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also set its own record a month earlier, gaining 1.1 percent to 37,863.80. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.7 percent to 15,310.97.
Wall Street’s recent surge was driven in part by expectations of rate cuts as U.S. inflation remained low. The stock market’s rally accelerated sharply in November due to relaxed Treasury yields.
Although the Federal Reserve has hinted at rate cuts, some officials have suggested that they may occur later than the market hopes for.
Technology stocks played a significant role in Wall Street’s recent gains, with several chip companies rising for a second consecutive day. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a heavyweight chipmaker, provided a better revenue forecast for this year than analysts expected. As a result, Broadcom rose by 5.9 percent, and Texas Instruments climbed by 4 percent.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude dropped by 46 cents to $72.79 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, lost 55 cents to $78.01 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar slightly increased to 148.22 Japanese yen from 148.14 yen, while the euro decreased to $1.0894 from $1.0897.
