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HONG KONG (AP) – Asian stocks were mostly higher on Monday ahead of China’s annual top political gathering, while Japan’s benchmark rose above the $40,000 level for the first time.
U.S. futures fell and oil prices were mixed.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose to 40,314.64, but fell slightly. By early afternoon, it was up 0.5% to 40,150.00. This follows last week’s gains on Wall Street, which pushed U.S. stocks to new heights.
Japanese stock prices have followed gains in other markets on expectations for strong demand for artificial intelligence-related technologies. It has also been helped by the Bank of Japan’s easy monetary policy, which has pumped money into the economy to support growth, and a weaker yen, which has boosted exporters’ profits.
This week, the spotlight is mainly on China’s most important political event, the National People’s Congress. Opening on Tuesday, investors are watching for updates on concrete policies to support the slowing economy, solve problems in the real estate market and stabilize financial markets.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.2% to 16,558.00, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3,033.63.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Seoul market’s Kospi fell 1.2% after a private sector survey showed manufacturing activity expansion slowed in February compared to the previous month due to weaker overseas demand. It rose to 2,672.94.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.1% to 7,598.00, while the SET also fell 0.1% in Bangkok.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 5,137.08 for the day, after hitting a new all-time high. It has risen in 16 of the past 18 weeks due to excitement over subdued inflation and a near-recovery of the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to $39,087.38. Tech stocks led the market, with the Nasdaq Composite Index rising 1.1% from the previous day to $16,274.94, surpassing its all-time high set in 2021.
Dell Technologies jumped 31.6%, helping lift the stock market. The company reported that its latest quarterly profits and revenue exceeded analysts’ expectations, highlighting demand for AI-optimized servers.
Rising demand for artificial intelligence technology has driven stock prices up dramatically over the past year. Dell has more than tripled in the past 12 months, and Nvidia has soared more than 260%.
The mood in the banking industry was even darker, with New York Community Bancorp down 25.9%. The company warned investors last week that it had discovered weaknesses in its internal loan review methods due to ineffective oversight, risk assessment and monitoring activities.
After several financial institutions went bankrupt during last year’s industry crisis, much attention has been focused on small and medium-sized regional banks.
While NYCB faces many unique challenges, there is concern that banks across the industry are facing challenges from lending for real estate projects.
They are under pressure, in part because the Federal Reserve has raised its key interest rate to its highest level since 2001, potentially straining the financial system. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates several times this year to provide some relief to banks and the broader economy.
The Fed has indicated it may do so if inflation continues to cool decisively toward its 2% target. However, a series of better-than-expected economic reports caused traders to postpone forecasts for when interest rates would begin to be cut. The expectation now is that the Fed could start in June after traders shelved their original March predictions.
In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.20% from 4.25% late Thursday.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2 cents to $79.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard crude, rose 11 cents to $83.66 a barrel.
The dollar rose from 150.08 yen to 150.16 yen. The euro rose from $1.0841 to $1.0845.
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