TOKYO– On Wednesday, Asian stocks traded mixed as Japan’s benchmarks rose on the back of positive data on the country’s financial progress while the rest of the region remained mired in uncertainty.
The Nikkei 225, a stock market index in Japan, gained 0.8% to end the day at 30,093.59. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.5% to 7,199.20 despite a report showing higher than expected salary increases. The annual growth rate of the wage rate index was 3.7%. Some analysts have speculated that this might lead to a rise in interest rates in the following months.
The Kospi in South Korea rose 0.6%, reaching 2,494.02. Both the Hang Seng in Hong Kong (-1.2% to 19,745.68) and the Shanghai Composite (-0.4% to 3,277.07) saw losses.
With COVID-19-related restrictions lifted and borders reopened, Japan’s encouraging GDP data released earlier in the day showed consumption was on the upswing.
The Cabinet Office said that Japan’s economy, the third largest in the world, increased at an annual pace of 1.6% in the quarter ending in March. Since April 2022 through June 2022, the GDP grew by 1.1%, setting a new record. Declining exports as a result of sluggish global demand were the key unfavourable factor.
Concerns about the economies of China and the United States knocked on investor confidence.
Recent reports out of China’s banking sector have shown a slower-than-anticipated recovery, and agreement price quotations have been less than encouraging. Anderson Alves, an analyst at ActivTrades, argued that although consumer prices have increased, the most of China’s recovery may now be in the past.
The S&P 500 dropped 26.38 points, or 0.6%, to 4,109.90 on Wall Street. The Nasdaq composite fell 22.16 points (0.2%) to 12,343.05, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 336.46 points (1.0%) to 33,012.14.
Exxon Mobil plummeted 2.4% and Chevron sank 2.3% on Tuesday, making energy companies some of the market’s hardest hitters. House Depot also dropped 2.2% after reporting a worsening in earnings from the previous quarter than had been anticipated. Later on Wednesday, other major retailers including Target and Walmart are expected to release their earnings reports.
They’re being scrutinised since recalcitrant spending by American households has been one of the main factors preventing a full-scale economic catastrophe. If it gives way, a recession or depression might be imminent. There is a lot of pressure since surveys of consumer confidence have shown a decline.
The substantially higher interest rate indicated to control inflation has already damaged production and other areas of the economy.
According to a second study released on Tuesday, prices at U.S. retailers went up somewhat last month, although not as much as economists had predicted.
According to Brian Jacobsen, primary financial expert at Annex Wealth Management, “there is often a gap between how people say they feel and how they spend their cash,” but the retail sales report shows people are starting to cut back on big-ticket products and discretionary categories like sporting items.
Bond market Treasury rates rose after the news. The 10-year Treasury yield increased to 3.54% on Tuesday from 3.51% on Monday night. It has a role in determining interest rates for mortgages and other large loans.
The yield on the 2-year Treasury note rose from 4.01% to 4.07% as investors anticipated further action from the Federal Reserve.
In the energy market, the price of U.S. crude oil dropped 67 cents per barrel, to $70.19. Brent crude, the commodity most in demand throughout the world, decreased 64 cents to $74.27 per barrel.
The value of one U.S. dollar rose to as high as 136.71 Japanese yen against the yen on Friday. The price of the euro was $1.0866, down from $1.0868.
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