Asian shares mostly dip after US stocks rally

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday, despite a rally on Wall Street boosted by easing oil prices, as regional investors still weighed the impact from the recent joint U.S.-Japan currency intervention.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6% to 63,369.85, as the U.S. dollar inched up to 157.63 Japanese yen from 157.18 yen. The euro cost $1.1511, little changed from $1.1514. The dollar was trading at 160-yen levels before the intervention.

Some analysts said the effectiveness of such an intervention remains uncertain as it doesn’t address the fundamental economic reasons behind the currency fluctuations, including inflation, interest rates and the relative strengths of the economies.

“A U.S.-backed operation carries far more signaling weight than Tokyo acting alone, and the pledge of further action will give speculators pause. But any U.S. contribution will probably be constrained by size,” a report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said.

Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, noted the latest effort could have some impact because it appears to signal a real change in monetary policy rather than just a one-time defensive move.

“This is an historic and meaningful development for the yen, which materially improves confidence in our mildly bullish call for the currency,” he said.

South Korea’s Kospi inched down less than 0.1% to 6,254.76. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2% to 9,128.60. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5% to 25,881.99, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.2% to 3,802.61.

On Wall Street, share prices rallied Monday after easing oil prices helped calm worries that inflation could get even worse. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% and is just 0.1% below its record set earlier this summer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which measures a narrower slice of the U.S. stock market, climbed 693 points or 1.3% to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq composite leaped 2.1%.

In energy trading in Asia early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude gained 50 cents to $80.84 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 63 cents to $84.40 a barrel.

A day earlier, it had dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he decided to hold off on new strikes against Iran at the urging of allies in the region.

Brent’s price careened between $72 and $102 last month as worries rose and fell over the war in Iran and when oil tankers would be allowed to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude to customers worldwide.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.68% from 4.75% late Friday. It remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.