Current:Home > NewsStock market today: Asian shares mostly higher after rebound on Wall St -AssetLink
Stock market today: Asian shares mostly higher after rebound on Wall St
View
Date:2025-04-18 16:51:08
Asian shares were mostly higher on Monday after U.S. stocks bounced back from Wall Street’s worst day since April to finish higher for the week.
U.S. futures slipped while oil prices advanced.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to 38,758.96 and the Kospi in Seoul jumped 0.7% to 2,705.87.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 0.7% to 2,705.87 and the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.3% to 3,097.86 as the government reported corporate profits rose 4.3% year-on-year in April.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.2% to 18,576.65.
Taiwan led the advance, with heavy buying of computer chip-related shares pushing the Taiex up 1.3% to a fresh record. MediaTek, a semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition television and handheld mobile device jumped 8.4%.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. logged a more modest 0.5% gain.
“The robust global semiconductor cycle is positive for Taiwan’s growth outlook,” Raymond Yeung and Bansi Madhavani of ANZ wrote in a research note. “The global semiconductor cycle is strong thanks to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence applications, cloud computing and 5G telecommunications technology,” it said.
On Friday, the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 5,304.72 and won back all its losses from the prior two days. It eked out a tiny gain for the week, extending its weekly winning streak to five, and is sitting just below its record set on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1% to 39,069.59, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.1%, to 16,920.79, topping an all-time high set earlier in the week.
Nvidia rose another 2.6% Friday, making it the biggest single force pushing the S&P 500 upward.
This week’s bumpiness for stocks came despite another blowout profit report from Nvidia, which has rocketed to become one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks amid a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. Fervor around AI had pushed some stocks to heights that critics called overdone, but Nvidia’s eye-popping growth and forecasts for more suggest it could keep going.
The overall U.S. economy has been showing continued strength for spending by U.S. households, but numbers beneath the surface may not be as encouraging.
The market got a bit of a boost Friday from a report showing overall sentiment among U.S. consumers weakened by less in May than preliminary data had suggested. Perhaps more importantly, the report from the University of Michigan also said U.S. consumers’ expectations for inflation in the coming year rose by less in May than earlier feared.
That could help stave off a vicious cycle where high expectations for inflation among U.S. households drive them to behave in ways that only make inflation worse.
Worries about stubbornly high inflation were behind this week’s rocky trading, after indexes set records recently. The weakness began after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday released the minutes from its last policy meeting. It showed some officials talking about the possibility of raising rates if inflation worsens.
Stocks fell further after reports on Thursday indicated the U.S. economy is stronger than expected. Such strength can actually spook Wall Street because it could keep upward pressure on inflation.
That in turn could delay a cut to the Federal Reserve’s main interest rate, which is sitting at the highest level in more than 20 years. The Fed is trying to pull of the difficult feat of slowing the economy enough through high interest rates to stifle high inflation but not so much that it kneecaps the job market.
Treasury yields climbed last week on such concerns, but they were mostly stable Friday following the report on consumer sentiment. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.46% from 4.48% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Fed, was holding steady at 4.94%.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 21 cents to $77.93 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It picked up 85 cents on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 21 cents to $82.05 per barrel.
In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar slipped to 156.77 Japanese yen from 156.99 yen.
The euro rose to $1.0851 from $1.0844.
veryGood! (732)
Related
- Daughter of Utah death row inmate navigates complicated dance of grief and healing before execution
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, Water Signs (Freestyle)
- What will Bronny James call LeBron on the basketball court? It's not going to be 'Dad'
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, Water Signs (Freestyle)
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Massachusetts health officials report second case of potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus
- Heather Graham Reveals Why She Hasn’t Spoken to Her Parents in Nearly 30 Years
- Rail worker’s death in Ohio railyard highlights union questions about remote control trains
- Breaking debut in Olympics raises question: Are breakers artists or athletes?
- Robert Telles, ex-Las Vegas elected official, guilty in murder of journalist
Ranking
- Clay Aiken's son Parker, 15, makes his TV debut, looks like his father's twin
- Claim to Fame Finale Reveals Real Housewife's Brother: Find Out Who Won
- No cupcakes at school for birthdays? Teacher says they're 'too messy' in viral video
- What makes the new Corvette ZR1's engine so powerful? An engineer explains.
- British golfer Charley Hull blames injury, not lack of cigarettes, for poor Olympic start
- CIA: Taylor Swift concert suspects plotted to kill 'tens of thousands’ in Vienna
- Falcons trading backup QB Taylor Heinicke to Chargers
- Shohei Ohtani and dog Decoy throw out first pitch on bobblehead night, slugger hits HR
Recommendation
Vance jokes he’s checking out his future VP plane while overlapping with Harris at Wisconsin airport
Taylor Swift Terror Plot: CIA Says Plan Was Intended to Kill “Tens of Thousands”
Horoscopes Today, August 28, 2024
Kelly Ripa Reveals the Bedtime Activity Ruining Her and Mark Consuelos' Relationship
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
Love Is Blind’s Stacy Snyder Comes Out as Queer
High winds, possibly from a tornado, derail 43 train cars in North Dakota
Good Luck Charlie Star Mia Talerico Is All Grown Up in High School Sophomore Year Photo