Equity Markets Today: Asian Equities Mixed Awaiting New US Data

By JOE McDONALD

BEIJING (AP) Asian stock markets were mixed Monday ahead of a US economic update this week that is expected to show a slowdown in growth.

Shanghai and Hong Kong fell while Tokyo advanced. Oil prices fell.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.1% on Friday, but finished with a small loss for the week.

US data released on Thursday is expected to weaken economic growth in the first quarter following interest rate hikes aimed at cooling activity and inflation. That could prompt the Federal Reserve to delay or taper more potential rate hikes at its May meeting.

France and Germany report economic growth on Friday after surveys show European factory activity is slowing.

There is no doubt that the global economy is weakening and vulnerable to further slowdown, Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities said in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5% to 3,285.81 while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 28,646.39. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.6% to 19,953.05.

The Kospi in Seoul fell 0.8% to 2,524.08 and the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.1% to 7,320.90. New Zealand advanced while Singapore regressed.

Forecasters expect Thursday’s data to show US economic growth has slowed to 2% in the first three months of 2023, from 2.6% in the last quarter of last year.

Traders are looking to see if the Fed and other central banks can rein in inflation near multi-decade highs without sending the global economy into recession. The Fed is expected to raise its key interest rate again at its May meeting and then take a break.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose to 4,133.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 percent to 33,808.96 points. The Nasdaq index added 0.1 percent to 12,072.46 points.

Healthcare companies and consumer products companies gained ground, offsetting losses in banks, technology stocks and elsewhere. Truist Financial and KeyCorp, two of the larger regional banks, were among the biggest fallers in the S&P 500. Truist fell 6% and KeyCorp finished 3.7% lower.

Investors focused on corporate earnings and forecasts.

Companies have beaten Wall Street forecasts. Analysts had predicted this would mark the sharpest fall in S&P 500 earnings per share since the pandemic stunned the economy in 2020. Analysts polled by FactSet expect earnings to shrink 6.3% for companies in the S&P 500.

Coca-Cola will report results on Monday, followed by McDonald’s and Google’s parent company Alphabet on Tuesday.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing and Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, report this on Wednesday. Investors will get details on the health of the airline industry when American Airlines and Southwest Airlines report Thursday, along with internet giant Amazon.

In energy markets, benchmark US crude lost 71 cents to $77.16 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 50 cents to $77.87 on Friday. Brent crude, the price base for international oil trade, fell 71 cents to $80.75 a barrel in London. It gained 56 cents to $81.66 the previous session.

The dollar rose to 134.44 yen from 134.21 yen on Friday. The euro rose from $1.0977 to $1.0980.