BY YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business writer
TOKYO (AP) – Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday after a sell-off in tech companies on Wall Street.
Tokyo was closed due to a national holiday. South Korea’s Kospi fell nearly 0.2% to 3,074.76. The Australian S & P / ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 6,839.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.0% to 30,618.85, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% to 3,623.99.
“Fortunately, there is more optimism than fear for society as a whole. Vaccines are showing evidence on the ground that confirms the effectiveness and effectiveness of transmission and will soon bring the world back to normal,” said Stephen Innes, chief strategist for global markets.
Although the world’s economies have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the use of COVID-19 vaccines is raising hopes for a recovery.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 3,876.50, extending its losses for a fifth straight day. The benchmark index was almost evenly split between winners and losers, but technology stocks and consumer spending companies took the brunt of selling. Apple fell 3%, Microsoft 2.7%, Tesla 8.5% and Amazon 2.1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 31,521.69. The Nasdaq lost 2.5% to 13,533.05. The Russell 2000 Smaller Business Index was down 0.7% to 2,251.07.
Stocks started losing some of their gains last week after a strong start to February as rising interest rates and the potential for inflation dampened Wall Street enthusiasm, although major stock indices remain near all-time highs.
“Equity investors are finally paying attention to the bond market,” said Mike Zigmont, director of trading and research at Harvest Volatility Management. “When yields rise, there is a lot of unrest in the equity sector.”
Investors continue to focus on the future of the COVID-19 hit global economy and the potential for further incentives to address these issues. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on President Joe Biden’s proposed stimulus package by the end of the week. It would include $ 1,400 checks for most Americans, additional payments for children, and billions of dollars for state and local governments, as well as additional aid to businesses hit by the pandemic.
But the large amount of stimulus being pumped into the economy has given some investors a break and revived inflation worries that have been virtually non-existent for more than a decade. US Treasury and bond yields have risen over the past few weeks as investors bet the rebound will lead to more inflation.
“There are some risks out there,” said Gary Schlossberg, global strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “The problem is that we are right back to where we were before the pandemic or that we are talking about a fundamental change.”
Tech stocks have seen big gains during the pandemic as investors bet that consumers who spend more time at home will increasingly rely on mobile devices, PCs, streaming video, and other technology products and services.
In energy trading, the US reference value for crude oil rose 76 cents to $ 62.46 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday it gained $ 2.44 to $ 61.70 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $ 1.14 to $ 66.38 a barrel.
In foreign exchange trading, the US dollar rose from 105.08 yen to 105.09 Japanese yen. The euro was priced at $ 1.2167 versus $ 1.2157.
AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed to this.
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