Asian stocks were especially higher on Thursday as stocks made small gains on Wall Street following a mixed run of reports on the economy.
Benchmarks increased in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney.
Shares fell in Shanghai after China’s market regulator said it launched an anti-monopoly investigation into e-commerce giant Alibaba Group 9988,
BABA,
stepping up official efforts to tighten control over the country’s fast-growing tech industries.
China is also stepping up its research into the practice of community-buying community groups and is calling some of the country’s largest tech companies into discussions as part of the anti-monopoly push.
China’s state market regulation administration also recently subpoenaed six companies, including Alibaba and other e-commerce platforms such as JD.com JD,
and Pinduoduo PDD,
gaming company Tencent 700,
food delivery company Meituan 3690,
and ride exchange company Didi Chuxing to talk about the potential consequences of buying community groups.
The Shanghai Composite index SHCOMP,
lost 0.2%. Shares also fell in the smaller market in Shenzhen 399106 in southern China,
But elsewhere, the Christmas Eve trade has been optimistic. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index NIK,
0.4% won on Thursday and the Hang Seng HSI,
in Hong Kong slightly 0.2% higher. In South Korea, the Kospi 180721,
jump 1.3% and the Australian S & P / ASX 200 XJO,
rose 0.4%. Stocks in Taiwan Y9999,
and Singapore STI,
“While some realignment of the emerging Asian portfolios could be expected before the holiday season, the underlying theme is positive,” said Jeffrey Halley of Oanda in a commentary.
On Wednesday is the S&P 500 SPX,
stepped up 0.1% to 3,690.01. The benchmark index hit an all-time high on Thursday and is up 14.2% so far this year.
Profits from financial, communications services, energy and other sectors were held in check by declines elsewhere, including tech companies, which helped pull the Nasdaq COMP,
slightly lower.
An hour before trading on Wall Street began, the government released an avalanche of data on the economy showing some optimistic and some disappointing signals.
The Labor Department said last week that fewer U.S. workers are claiming unemployment benefits. The number is still incredibly high compared to before the pandemic, but it was better than economists expected.
Another report said durable goods orders rose more than expected last month, a good sign for the country’s manufacturers.
But other reports have been grimmer. Consumers scaled back more money last month than economists expected. It was the first drop since April and was mainly because incomes fell sharply in November, more than economists had predicted.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
0.4% added to 30,129.83.
Stock futures initially fell after President Donald Trump said he would not sign the $ 900 billion bailout for the economy that Congress approved Monday night.
The hope in the markets was that the package could bypass the economy until widespread vaccinations can help the world return to normal. The legislation includes one-time cash payments of $ 600 to most Americans, additional benefits for laid-off workers, and other financial aid.
Trump said late on Tuesday that he wants to see larger cash payments to most Americans, up to $ 2,000 for individuals. He also criticized other parts of the bill.
But stocks eventually fell as investors looked past the unexpected setback.
“Despite the churning of the Washington DC pond through vetoes, new votes and transfers, Wall Street clearly believes that something positive will float to the top of the barrel when the churning stops,” Halley said.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose from 0.90% at the end of Tuesday to 0.95%.
In other trade, US benchmark crude oil CLG21,
earned 12 cents to $ 48.24 a barrel in electronic commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It won $ 1.10 to $ 48.12 on Wednesday. Brent raw BRNG21,
the international standard, added 14 cents to $ 51.38 a barrel.
USDJPY dollar,
slid from 103.54 yen to 103.52 Japanese yen at the end of Wednesday.