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TOKYO, July 6 (AP) Asian stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday as Wall Street traded tepid on fears of a global recession.
Major Asian benchmarks fell. Oil prices recovered some of their losses after plunging on Monday. Analysts said markets were watching a variety of risks, including inflation, oil prices, interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve and other central banks, political developments in the U.K. and concerns about COVID-19.
But the underlying sentiment seems to be wait-and-see.
Wall Street opened weak Monday after markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday.
U.S. crude fell $8.93, finally falling below $100 a barrel for the first time since early May.
U.S. benchmark crude was up 60 cents at $100.10 a barrel earlier on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.24 to $104.01 a barrel.
Market volatility reflects growing concerns among investors that the economy is slowing amid soaring inflation and sharply rising interest rates that could tip them into recession.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said of oil prices: “Despite another wave of Covid-19 in China, there does not appear to be any new or market-related events to justify this move. seriousness.”
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.3 percent to 26,078.66 in early trade.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.6% at 6,592.80. Korea’s Kospi fell nearly 1 percent to 2,318.56. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4 percent to 21,543.39, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.3 percent to 3,358.53.
Japan will hold parliamentary elections next weekend, but the result is expected to be more stable.
Despite the ruling party’s faltering efforts to contain coronavirus infections, the economy and various scandals, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appears to be heading for victory in a deeply divided and disgraced opposition, opinion polls show.
Stocks ended the day with modest gains on Wall Street, with tech companies leading gains in the afternoon.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 3,831.39. The Nasdaq rose 1.7 percent to 3,831.39.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained in the red, down 0.4% to 30,967.82. Small-cap stocks rebounded after a sluggish start. The Russell 2000 rose 0.8 percent to 1,741.33.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 fell 2.9% after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s two top cabinet ministers resigned, saying they had lost confidence in Johnson’s leadership over his handling of a sexual misconduct scandal interpretation has changed.
Energy, industrials, healthcare and most of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors ended lower, despite a recent rebound in technology stocks, communications companies and retailers, as well as other companies that rely on direct consumer spending.
“Today, the market does see slower growth as the main driver,” said Paul Kim, chief executive of Simplified Asset Management.
“So you’re seeing a small sell-off in risk assets, but a big sell-off in growth-related oil, energy, commodities, and yields are down a little bit.”
The stock market remains in the doldrums, pulling the S&P 500 into a bear market last month, meaning a continued decline of 20% or more from its recent high.
The market’s performance in the first half of 2022 was its worst since the first six months of 1970.
Inflation, which has been squeezing businesses and consumers, tightened after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
The invasion sent global oil prices higher, with U.S. gasoline prices hitting record highs. Consumers are cutting back on rising prices for everything from food to clothing.
The lockdown in China due to rising COVID-19 cases has also made supply chain problems worse.
Wall Street has been closely monitoring the latest economic developments for more clues on how inflation is affecting the economy and whether that will change the Fed’s stance on raising interest rates.
Wall Street will keep a close eye on the labor market when the government releases June jobs data on Friday.
Investors are also looking ahead to the next round of corporate earnings. Several major companies have recently warned that their financial performance is being squeezed by inflation, including McCormick, the maker of spices and condiments.
In foreign exchange trade, the dollar edged lower to 135.22 yen from 135.84 yen. EUR/USD fell to $1.0259 from $1.0266. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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