Tokyo (AFP) – Asian markets were mixed on Friday following recent strong gains and after the Dow and the S&P 500 hit new records. Modest gains on Wall Street came after an upward revision to US GDP for the second quarter and bumper results from AI chip giant Nvidia. The upward GDP hike to 3.3 percent from 3.0 percent mainly reflected improvements in investment and consumer spending.
“After the initial release, there were concerns that the domestic (US) economy was slowing quite sharply,” said Richard Flax at Moneyfarm. “But these latest data suggest that the economy is a bit stronger than initially feared.” Attention is now on Friday’s release of a key US inflation reading and the implications for the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.
The Paris stock market extended its recovery after tumbling early in the week on fears that France’s minority government could be toppled, as it struggles to find around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei and Seoul were down while Shanghai and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng crept higher ahead of results from tech titan Alibaba and electric car giant BYD. Oil prices dipped.
Japanese industrial production fell by 1.6 percent month-on-month, while vehicle output plunged 6.7 percent. “That fall echoes the big drop in motor vehicle exports last month and suggests that US tariffs are starting to bite,” said Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics. On Thursday, Japan’s tariff envoy, who was seeking to finalize a trade deal struck in July, abruptly cancelled a visit to Washington.
– Key figures at around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,667.83
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.45 percent at 25,120.81
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,858.17
Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1661 from $1.1680 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3502 from $1.3508
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.88 yen from 146.97 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.37 from 86.46 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.79 percent at $64.09 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.76 percent at $68.10 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.16 percent at 45,636.90 points (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.32 percent at 6,501.86 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,216.82 (close)
© 2024 AFP
