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BANGKOK (AP) – Asian stocks were mostly higher Tuesday as Japan’s central bank maintained easy monetary policy while Wall Street hit record highs set last week.
Shanghai’s index widened its decline, but Hong Kong’s index rose 2.5%. US futures were flat and oil prices fell slightly.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3% to 36,637.03, close to its all-time high set in 1989 before the bursting of the financial bubble that ushered in an era of slowing growth.
of bank of japan Citing the “extremely high level of uncertainty surrounding the domestic and international economies and financial markets,” the Bank announced that it would continue its ultra-accommodative monetary policy, keeping the base interest rate unchanged at -0.1%.
In its policy statement, the central bank also said it would “not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary.”
Speculation that the Bank of Japan may end its negative interest rate policy introduced to encourage consumption and investment sent the Japanese yen sharply lower. As of Tuesday morning, the dollar was at 147.94 yen, down slightly from 148.11 yen late Monday.
Investors disappointed by China’s decision to keep loan prime rates unchanged continued to sell in Shanghai, sending the composite index down 0.4% to 2,746.74. It fell 2.7% on Monday.
But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.5% to $15,336.26, helping to offset losses this year of about 12% as of Monday’s close.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,473.97 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 7,524.50.
SET in Bangkok remains almost unchanged.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 4,850.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeded 38,000 points, rising 0.4% to 38,001.81 points. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 15,360.29.
Macy’s Shares rose 3.6% after the company announced it had rejected acquisition offers from two investment firms because they did not offer “attractive value.” SolarEdge Technologies rises 4% after announcing it will cut 16% of its workforce, NuStar Energy says Sunoco will buy pipeline and storage company in deal valued at $7.3 billion, including debt As a result, the stock price rose 18.2%.
This helped offset the 24.2% decline. archer daniels midland, placed its chief financial officer on leave. The company, which received a document request from U.S. regulators, said it was investigating some of its accounting practices. ADM also said its full-year 2023 profit is expected to be lower than analysts expected.
Associated Press business correspondent Seth Stell reports.
This week will see a flurry of companies reporting their earnings for the final three months of 2023, with about 70 S&P 500 stocks scheduled to appear on the calendar. They include American Airlines, Intel, Procter & Gamble, and Tesla.
Analysts expect fourth-quarter profits for S&P 500 companies to decline across the board, down nearly 2% from a year ago, according to FactSet. If their claims are correct, this would be the fourth quarter of the past five quarters in which profits declined.
On Thursday, the government will release its first estimates of how strongly the economy grew in the final three months of 2023.
Economists expect the results to show that the economy is still growing, but at a slower pace than in the summer. The Fed wants that because if the economy is too strong, upward pressure on inflation will continue.
On Friday, the government is scheduled to release the latest measure of the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. Economists expect the inflation rate to remain stable in December at 2.6% compared to the previous month.
U.S. Treasury yields have fallen sharply since October due to expectations for future interest rate cuts. As a result, the pressure on the stock market was significantly eased, leading to an increase in stock prices. Yields fell further on Monday.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was 4.09% as of early Tuesday morning, down from 4.13% late Friday and 5% in October.
In other trading, US benchmark crude oil was unchanged at $74.76 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 1 cent to $80.05 per barrel.
The euro rose to $1.0896 from $1.0884.
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AP Business Writer Stan Cho contributed.
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