WORLD

Stock market today: Asian shares mixed ahead of US consumer confidence and price data

Nov 27, 2023, 11:08 PM

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after Wall Street benchmarks edged lower as investors waited for updates on inflation and how American consumers are feeling about the economy.

Tokyo and Hong Kong fell while Shanghai, Seoul and Sydney gained. U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher.

Later Tuesday, the Conference Board will issue an update on consumer confidence, which has remained solid throughout the year. Economists polled by FactSet expect another solid reading for the October report.

On Thursday, Wall Street will be closely watching the government’s October data on the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. Economists expect that measure to continue easing, as it has been since the middle of 2022.

Investors have grown cautiously optimistic that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to put a definitive end to its aggressive interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, the broader economy has remained strong enough in the face of rising interest rates and inflation to avoid a recession.

Signs the U.S. economy is slowing, and that conditions in China remain uncertain are weighing on sentiment, analysts said.

After U.S. new home sales slowed more than expected in October, “The Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey could well show a deterioration in mood,” Robert Carnell and Min Joo Kang of ING Economics said in a commentary.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.1% to 33,408.39.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.8% to 17,381.14. Chinese AI firm SenseTime’s shares sank 4.2%, having fallen as much as 9.7%, after Grizzly Research accused the artificial intelligence software company of inflating its revenue figures. In a notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sensetime said the allegations were “without merit” and showed a lack of understanding of the company’s business and its financial reporting.

Grizzly also has taken aim at other Chinese tech companies, including online clothing retailer Temu.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.1% to 2,521.76 and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% higher, to 3,038.55.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 7,015.20 and India’s Sensex was flat at 65,969.29. Bangkok’s SET gained 0.5%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 4,550.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged 0.2% lower, to 35,333.47, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1% to 14,241.02.

The S&P 500 remains on track to close out November as its best month of the year.

Shopify rose 4.4% after announcing a Black Friday record for worldwide sales of $4.1 billion from its merchants. Consumers were scouring the internet for online deals as they capped off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday.

In the bond market, Treasury yields fell broadly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, fell to 4.38% from 4.47% late Friday.

The price of U.S. crude oil fell 0.9% Monday, remaining mostly stable ahead of OPEC’s meeting on Thursday. The cartel has maintained tight supplies, though prices have been falling over the last month. Lower energy prices could further ease inflation’s squeeze on consumers and help fuel economic growth.

Early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude was up 18 cents at $75.04 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international pricing standard, gained 23 cents to $80.10 a barrel.

The main focus through the end of the year will be on the Fed and what it does next. It has been holding its benchmark interest rate steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.50% since its last quarter-point hike at its July meeting. Investors increasingly expect the Fed to cut rates in mid-2024, easing it off its highest level in two decades. The central bank is aiming to cool inflation without slowing economic growth to the point of causing a recession.

In other trading Tuesday, the U.S. dollar fell to 148.32 Japanese yen from 148.68 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0946 from $1.0955.

World

FILE - U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar speaks during a press conference at the new embassy st...

Associated Press

US ambassador says Mexico ‘closed the doors’ on security cooperation and denies its violence problem

MEXICO CITY (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar lashed out Wednesday at Mexico’s failure to accept aid in the fight against drug cartels, claiming the country “closed the doors” on security cooperation. In a press conference, Salazar launched his harshest criticism yet of rampant violence, police corruption and the Mexican government’s mistaken attitude that “there […]

44 minutes ago

Associated Press

US and Polish officials open missile defense site that Russia has long protested

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — U.S. and Polish officials inaugurated a NATO missile defense base in northern Poland on Wednesday, with Polish officials welcoming it as a significant boost to the security of the country as well as of the NATO alliance at a time of war in neighboring Ukraine. The U.S. missile defense base, which […]

10 hours ago

Palestinian girl Halima Abou Yassine, 7, who was brought to Lebanon from Gaza Strip for treatment a...

Associated Press

Children brought from Gaza to heal from war wounds become caught in another war, in Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — When Zarifa Nawfal’s family arrived in Beirut for her wounded daughter’s surgery, one of the first things she wanted to do was go to the sea. The Mediterranean had been a constant companion at their home in Gaza before the war. “The moment I smelled the sea, I felt at peace inside […]

20 hours ago

People arrive for the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP...

Associated Press

At UN climate talks, nations big and small get chance to bear witness to climate change

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — When more than two dozen world leaders deliver remarks at the United Nations’ annual climate conference on Wednesday, many are likely to detail their nations’ firsthand experience with the catastrophic weather that has come with climate change. That could include Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose nation has seen deadly flooding […]

20 hours ago

Associated Press

Stock market today: Asian stocks dip as Wall Street momentum slows with cooling Trump trade

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks on Wednesday followed Wall Street lower as momentum cooled for the torrid “Trump trade” that swept U.S. markets following Donald Trump’s presidential victory. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.1% in morning trading to 38,953.44, as wholesale inflation reached its highest level since July of last year. The corporate goods […]

20 hours ago

Associated Press

Why is only limited aid getting to Palestinians inside Gaza?

JERUSALEM (AP) — The threatened U.S. deadline for Israel to allow more aid for people into the Gaza Strip or see fewer weapons shipments for its war with Hamasexpired on Tuesday but the Biden administration said it would not limit arms transfers. Because of Israeli border controls, the amount of food and other aid getting […]

1 day ago

Stock market today: Asian shares mixed ahead of US consumer confidence and price data