Asia markets follow Wall Street lower as rally cools
Manama, Dec. 10 (BNA): Asian stock markets followed their slide on Wall Street on Friday as the rally subsided and investors waited for US inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on when to undo economic stimulus. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney fell.
The benchmark S&P 500 index fell on Wall Street after three days of gains. Closed more than three-quarters of the companies included in the index, Associated Press reports.
Investors are looking forward to US consumer price data for November. Federal Reserve officials, scheduled to meet next week, earlier said they were ready to take action if needed to cool inflation, which hit a 30-year high in October.
Traders were “potentially taking some risks off the table” while they wait for the numbers, IG’s Yeap Jun Rong said in a report.
The Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% to 3662.72 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.4% to 28,609.84. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5% to 24,138.40.
Seoul’s Kospi fell 0.6% to 3011.44, and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was down 0.5% at 7,346.00.
New Zealand and Southeast Asia markets also declined.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.7% to 4,667.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than one point to 3,5754.69. The Nasdaq lost 1.7% to 15,517.37.
The S&P 500 rose 3.6% over the previous three days after the White House’s chief medical advisor said the omicron variable might not be as dangerous as the previous delta. This eased fears of further restrictions on travel and business.
Technology stocks and a mix of retailers and other companies that rely on direct consumer spending contributed to the biggest impact on the S&P 500. Chip maker Nvidia fell 3.4%, while Tesla fell 6.1% for the biggest drop in the index.
Travel-related companies have fallen back after spending the past few days gaining ground. Carnival fell 1.7 percent and United Airlines fell 1.8 percent.
Health-related stocks rose. Pfizer, which is touting the potential benefits of a booster vaccine against the omicron variant, rose 1.3%.
In energy markets, benchmark US crude rose 7 cents to $71.01 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.42 on Thursday to $70.94. Brent crude, the price basis for global oils, rose 8 cents to $74.50 a barrel in London. It lost $1.40 in the previous session to $74.42.
The dollar was little changed at 113.49 yen. The euro rose to $1.1301 from $1.1289.
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