Asia-Pacific Stocks Rise
On Friday, shares in Asia-Pacific increased after overnight gains for tech stocks as the Nasdaq Composite rebounded.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index grew 0.23% by the afternoon, with shares of JD.com rising nearly 6% after the Singles Day online shopping event, while Alibaba fell 1.42%. Both companies had new sales records on their platforms on Singles Day.
In the meantime, Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese chipmaker SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) fell nearly 6% after the company said that its top executive and various board members quit their jobs. The Hang Seng Tech index increased almost 2%.
Mainland Chinese stocks showed a delayed effect on the broader region, with the Shanghai composite remaining flat while the Shenzhen component fell 0.178%.
Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.99%, while the Topix index increased 1.2%. The Kospi soared 1.39% in South Korea.
Australian stocks also increased as the S&P/ASX 200 reached 0.86%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares traded 0.36% and higher outside Japan.
Overnight, the S&P 500 raised slightly to 4,649.28 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 0.53% to 15,704.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average started declining 158.72 points to 35,921.24.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index (that mainly tracks the greenback against a basket of its equals) was at 95.247 after its jump below 94.5 earlier this week.
Earlier in the week, the Japanese yen traded at 114.25 per dollar. It was struggling to recover after declining from below 113.6 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed deals at $0.7284, still ahead levels over $0.739, seen at the beginning of this week.
In the afternoon, Oil prices went lower during Asia trading hours. The international benchmark Brent crude futures went down 0.76% to $82.26 per barrel. U.S. crude futures slid 0.77% to $80.98 per barrel.
Here are the major movements in the markets:
S&P 500 (GSPC): +2.57 (+0.06%) to 4,649.28
Dow (DJI): -158.72 (-0.45%) to 35,928.23
Nasdaq (IXIC): +81.59 (+0.52%) to 15,704.28
Crude (CL=F): -$0.18 (-0.21%) to $81.17 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$18.00 (+0.92%) to $1,865.40 per ounce
Major moves in the markets as of 9:30 a.m. ET:
S&P 500 (GSPC): 4,655.18, +8.46 (+0.18%)
Dow (DJI): 36,000.82, -79.12 (-0.22%)
Nasdaq (IXIC): 15,728.26, +105.55 (+0.68%)
Crude (CL=F): $81.62 per barrel, +$0.27 (+0.33%)
Gold (GC=F): $1,863.41 per ounce, +$15.11 (+0.82%)
10-year Treasury (TNX): flat to yield 1.5700%
Wednesday evening, Stock futures fell lower.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +3 points (+0.07%), to 4,646.00
Dow futures (YM=F): -8 points (-0.03%), to 35,985.00
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +12.6 points (+0.08%) to 15,994.00
