TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Friday despite worries about the economic outlook and inflation in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
The Bank of Japan ended a policy meeting with no major changes, keeping its benchmark interest rate in a range of 0 to 0.1%. In March, it raised the key rate from minus 0.1%, citing signs that inflation had reached the central bank’s target of about 2%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8% to 37,934.76, while the U.S. dollar edged up to 156.22 Japanese yen from 155.58 yen.
Although a weak yen is a boon for giant Japanese exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp., whose overseas earnings are boosted when converted into yen, some Japanese officials, including Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, have been raising concern that an overly weak currency is not good for the Japanese economy in the long run.
In other currency trading, the euro cost $1.0740, up from $1.0733.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.4% to 7,575.90. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.1% to 2,656.33. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.3% to 17,680.43, while the Shanghai Composite rose 1.1% to 3,087.60.
On Thursday, Wall Street was lower with worries about a potentially toxic cocktail combining stubbornly high inflation with a flagging economy. A sharp drop in Facebook’s parent company, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, also hurt the market.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 5,048.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1% to 38,085.80 and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.6% to 15,611.76.
Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, dropped 10.6% even though it reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts had expected. Investors focused instead on the big investments in artificial intelligence that Meta pledged to make. AI has created a frenzy on Wall Street, but Meta is increasing its spending as it also gave a forecasted range for upcoming revenue whose midpoint fell below analysts’ expectations.
Expectations had built high for Meta, along with the other “Magnificent Seven” stocks that drove most of the stock market’s returns last year. They need to hit a high bar to justify their high stock prices.
The entire U.S. stock market felt the pressure of another rise in Treasury yields following a disappointing report that said the growth of the U.S. economy slowed to a 1.6% annual rate during the first three months of this year from 3.4% at the end of 2023.
That undercut a hope that’s sent the S&P 500 to record after record this year: that the economy can avoid a deep recession and support strong profits for companies, even if high inflation takes a while to get fully under control.
That’s what Wall Street calls a “soft landing” scenario, and expectations had grown recently for a “no landing” in which the economy avoids a recession completely.
Thursday’s economic data will likely get revised a couple times as the U.S. government fine-tunes the numbers. But the lower-than-expected growth and higher-than-expected inflation is “a bit of a slap in the face to those hoping for a ‘no landing’ scenario,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
Treasury yields still climbed as traders pared bets for cuts to rates this year by the Federal Reserve.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.70% from 4.66% just before the report and from 4.65% late Wednesday.
Traders are largely betting on the possibility of just one or maybe two cuts to interest rates this year by the Fed, if any, according to data from CME Group. They came into the year forecasting six or more. A string of reports this year showing inflation remaining hotter than forecast has crushed those expectations.
In energy trading Friday, benchmark U.S. crude edged up 37 cents to $83.94 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 40 cents to $89.41 a barrel.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
