WORLD

Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed as China unveils 5% economic growth target for 2024

Mar 3, 2024, 11:45 PM

BEIJING (AP) — Shares were mixed Tuesday in Asia after China’s premier said the country’s target for economic growth this year is around 5%, in line with expectations.

Hong Kong’s benchmark fell while Shanghai edged higher.

Li Qiang, addressing the opening meeting of China’s National People’s Congress, also said Beijing would issue 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) in long-term bonds to help bridge funding gaps, provide support to financially strapped local governments and invest in both advanced technology and in social support and education.

Li also said China would expand government-subsidized housing, part of a program aimed at reversing a downturn in the property market after a crackdown on excess borrowing caused dozens of developers to default on their debts.

The congress is the year’s biggest political event, but its role is mainly to endorse policies set by top leaders of the ruling Communist Party.

Investors have been watching for signs China’s leaders would provide more stimulus for the economy, to help spur investment and consumer spending and boost growth. The economy expanded at a 5.2% annual rate last year after growth dipped to 3% in 2022.

The initial reaction to Li’s address and the annual budget report, also issued Tuesday, appeared tepid. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 2% to 16,272.77 and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.3% to 3,047.20.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3%, pushing beyond its latest record close, to 40,212.45.

In Seoul, the Kospi sank 0.6% to 2,658.78, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 7,730.60.

India’s Sensex declined 0.3% while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.5%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 5,130.95, coming off its latest all-time high and its 16th winning week in the last 18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2% to 38,989.83, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4% to 16,207.51.

Momentum slowed for U.S. stocks following their roar higher on excitement that inflation appears to be cooling, cuts to interest rates may be coming and the U.S. economy has so far shrugged off predictions for a recession. At the same time, a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology has catapulted some stocks to stratospheric heights.

Super Micro Computer, which sells server and storage systems used in AI and other computing, jumped another 18.6% Monday. It has surged nearly 1,000% in the last 12 months.

The poster child of AI mania is Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the move into AI. It rose another 3.6% Monday to bring its gain for the year so far to 72.1% after more than tripling in 2023. It was by far the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500.

Such spurts are bolstered by a surge in profits and expectations for tremendous growth to continue. But they are also raising worries about another potential bubble as prices whiz at breathtaking speeds.

Several events scheduled for this week could upset the market.

On Wednesday, the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, will testify before a House of Representatives committee about monetary policy. He has said the Fed’s next move will likely be a cut, but he’s also said it needs more evidence that inflation is falling decisively toward its 2% target. That was before reports recently showed inflation at both the consumer and wholesale levels were higher than expected.

A report on Friday will show how the U.S. job market is doing, with economists forecasting a slowdown from January’s strong growth.

Several retailers will also offer their latest earnings reports this week. They include Costco Wholesale, Gap and Nordstrom.

Another retailer, Macy’s, jumped 13.5% after two investment firms raised their offer to buy the shares they don’t already own.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Spirit Airlines lost 10.8%. JetBlue Airways is ending their proposed $3.8 billion combination after a court ruling blocked their merger. JetBlue rose 4.3%.

Apple fell 2.5% after the European Union hit it with a fine of nearly $2 billion for unfairly favoring its own music streaming service over Spotify and other rivals.

In other trading early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 33 cents to $78.41 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 21 cents to $82.59 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar slipped to 150.51 Japanese yen from 150.53 yen. The euro also fell, to $1.0852 from $1.0856.

___

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

World

FILE - A cargo ship sails toward the Pacific Ocean waiting to transit the Panama Canal in Panama Ci...

Associated Press

Head of international shipping regulator says industry must do more to cut carbon pollution

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — For years, the international shipping industry has been criticized for making little progress in reducing the carbon-belching pollution released from the fuels that vessels use in moving most of the cargo that people use every day, such as food, cars and clothing. Now, the new head of the International Martime Organization, […]

12 minutes ago

FILE - Mexico's former Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard speaks at the press conference anno...

Associated Press

Mexico takes the US side in potential trade battles with China and seeks to boost local content

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s top economic official has suggested his country will actively take the U.S. side in looming trade battles with China. “There is a dispute between China and the United States, stronger now than it was a few years ago,” Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said at a business forum on Tuesday. “And […]

4 hours ago

FILE - Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, th...

Associated Press

US sanctions a leader of Sudan’s paramilitary group for fueling a brutal war

CAIRO (AP) — The United States sanctioned a senior leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for “leading efforts” to supply weapons for the 17-month-long war, which has killed more than 20,000 people and wrecked the northeastern African country. Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa controls the UAE-based Tradive General Trading LLC, a front company that imported […]

11 hours ago

FILE - Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind Technologies, speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View,...

Associated Press

Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for work on proteins

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for their work with proteins. Baker works at the University of Washington in Seattle, while Hassabis and Jumper both work at Google Deepmind in London. Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

China stocks decline amid economic recovery disappointment, while other markets in Asia rise

HONG KONG (AP) — Shares in China slumped on Wednesday as details of economic stimulus plans from officials in Beijing failed to live up to investors’ expectations, while other markets in Asia rose. Stocks in Hong Kong fluctuated between gains and losses, with the Hang Seng Index falling by 2.4% to 20,418.61. This decline followed […]

14 hours ago

Associated Press

Musk’s X to be reinstated in Brazil after complying with Supreme Court demands

SAO PAULO (AP) — The Brazilian Supreme Court’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday authorized the restoration of social media platform X´s service in Brazil, over a month after its nationwide shutdown, according to a statement posted on the court’s website. Elon Musk’s X was blocked on Aug. 30 in the highly online country of […]

23 hours ago

Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed as China unveils 5% economic growth target for 2024