Asian stocks rise as survey shows Chinese services reviving

Beijing, June 6 (BNA): Major Asian stock markets rose on Monday after Wall Street tumbled and a survey showed that the slowdown in Chinese services activity eased in May as anti-virus controls were lifted in Shanghai and other major cities.

The Associated Press reported that benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong rose.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index lost 1.6% on Friday amid fears of higher interest rates, a potential economic slowdown and job losses.

A survey showed that activity in Chinese retail and other service industries contracted in May, but at a slower rate than the previous month. The ruling Communist Party is allowing shops, factories and other businesses to reopen in Shanghai after a two-month shutdown to combat the virus outbreak. Restrictions in the capital, Beijing, are receding.

“Some pockets of optimism may come from further easing of virus restrictions in Beijing,” IG’s Yeap Jun Rong said in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2% to 3,233.73 after business news magazine Caixin said its monthly services PMI rose to 41.4 from 36.2 in April on a 100-point scale where figures below 50 show activity contracted.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4% to 21,379.67, and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 2,7956.19. Korean markets are closed for a holiday.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 7,215.90 while New Zealand markets were closed for a holiday.

India’s Sensex Index opened 0.6% lower at 55559.30. Southeast Asian markets fell.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell to 4108.54 its eighth weekly loss in the past nine weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to 32,899.70. The Nasdaq fell 2.5 percent to 112012.73.

Government data showed that US employers added 390,000 jobs in May, beating expectations of 322,500.

Investors are uneasy about the possibility that the Federal Reserve, which aims to cool inflation at a four-decade high, could push the US economy into recession.

The same government report showed wages were slightly lower than expected in May, which could reduce future pressure for higher prices. This will reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further.

More than four out of five stocks in the S&P 500 fell. The biggest declines were in technology stocks.

Tesla plunged 9.2 percent after US safety regulators said more than 750 owners had complained of cars stopping suddenly on the roads for no apparent reason while working on partially automated driving systems.

The US benchmark crude rose 70 cents to $119.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $2 on Friday to $118.87. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trade, rose by $72 to $120.44 a barrel in London. And closed up $2.11 the previous session at $119.72.

The dollar fell to 130.72 yen from 130.85 yen on Friday. The euro rose to $1.0724 from $1.0720.

MI