NEW YORK — Asian stocks fell on Wednesday as Wall Street started 2024 on a weak note, reversing some of their strong gains from last year.
US futures fell and oil prices were little changed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.1% to 16,603.00 on the back of a 2% decline in tech stocks, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.1 as persistent concerns about the strength of China’s economic growth put downward pressure on it. It fell by 2,960.12%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1% to 7,550.40. South Korea’s benchmark fell 2% to 2,618.57 after hovering near a 19-month high on Tuesday amid a short-selling ban.
Bangkok’s SET fell 0.4% and India’s Sensex fell 0.5%.
Japanese markets remained closed for the year-end and New Year holidays.
On Wall Street on Tuesday, the S&P 500 index fell 0.6% to 4,742.83 after being on the verge of a year-to-date high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to $37,715.04, while the Nasdaq Composite Index led the market decline, dropping 1.6% to $14,765.94.
Part of the market’s biggest decline was in the stocks that were the biggest winners last year. Apple fell 3.6%, its worst day in nearly five months, while Nvidia and Meta Platforms both fell more than 2%. tesla, another member of the “Magnificent 7” Big Tech stocks that accounted for well over half of Wall Street’s profits last year, swung between losses and profits after reporting deliveries and production for the end of 2024. . It ended the day lower by less than $0.1. %.
Netherlands-based ASML went into bankruptcy after the Dutch government partially revoked permission to ship some products to customers in China. The United States is seeking restrictions on exports of chip technology to China. ASML’s US-listed shares fell 5.3%, and US semiconductor stocks were also weak.
Health care stocks have gotten better after Wall Street analysts upgraded their ratings on several stocks, including Moderna, which rose 13.1%. Amgen’s 3.3% rise and UnitedHealth Group’s 2.4% rise were two of the strongest forces pushing the Dow higher.
Investors braced for a pause in the massive bull market that beat the S&P 500 index for nine consecutive weeks and came within 0.6% of the record set almost exactly two years ago. This large increase was based on expectations that the Federal Reserve had engineered a strategy to escape high inflation. High interest rates slow the economy enough to cool inflation, but not enough to cause a painful recession.
Tuesday’s report showed that U.S. manufacturing may be weaker than expected. According to S&P Global, sales last month contracted further than the previous month, according to preliminary figures, as new sales declined due to the slump both overseas and domestically. However, business confidence has recovered to its highest level in three months.
A separate report showed construction spending growth in November was slightly slower than economists expected.
Similar to stocks, U.S. Treasury yields in the bond market fell slightly on Tuesday following significant movements since the fall. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 3.94% from 3.87% late Friday.
More high-profile reports on the economy are expected later this week. On Wednesday, the Fed is scheduled to release the minutes of its last policy meeting, which raised expectations for a series of rate cuts later this year.
A separate report on Wednesday will show how many jobs were advertised by U.S. employers at the end of November, and the Federal Reserve is watching the data closely. On Friday, the U.S. government will release its monthly tally of national job growth rates.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 1 cent to $70.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard crude, fell 4 cents to $75.85 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 141.92 yen from 141.99 yen. The euro rose to $1.0960 from $1.0936.
Associated Press
