Stock Market Today: Asian Stocks Mixed After China Reports Manufacturing Weakness in June | Wagon Radio 720

BANGKOK (AP) – Stocks in Asian markets were mixed on Friday after China reported a slowdown in factory activity in June due to weak consumer spending and export demand.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul fell, while Sydney, Shanghai and Bangkok rose. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices rose.

In addition to signs of a cooling economic recovery after the end of anti-virus restrictions, China’s factory activity is expected to shrink for another month in June following a drop in export orders, an official survey showed.

The world’s second-largest economy has rebounded after pandemic restrictions on travel and business activity ended in December. However, the revival has been overshadowed by sluggish domestic consumer spending and sluggish export demand after interest rate hikes in the United States and Europe to curb inflation.

“Going forward, policy support will be key to preventing a further slowdown in growth. Apart from some token rate cuts, officials have so far been slow to announce meaningful stimulus,” said Capital. Economics’ Julian Evans-Pritchard said in a commentary.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,201.87, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to 18,886.60. The Nikkei average stock price in the Tokyo market fell 0.1% to 33,189.04 yen.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 7,204.40, while Seoul’s KOSPI rose 0.6% to 3,201.64. Stocks fell in Taiwan, but rose in Bangkok and Mumbai.

Most stocks rose on Wall Street on Thursday after the latest signs that the US economy is still stronger than feared.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 4,396.44, marking its sixth winning week in the past seven weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to $34,122.42, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell less than 0.1% to $13,591.33.

Yields soared in bond markets after data showed the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2% in the first three months of this year, well above the 1.3% originally expected. Fewer than expected workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, another report said, suggesting the job market remains remarkably strong despite the steep interest rates meant to slow the economy as a whole. ing.

This raises the question of whether the long-predicted recession is inevitable. And with that resilience, the Fed could decide the economy is strong enough to keep raising rates to keep inflation in check.

The Fed has been raising interest rates at a breakneck pace since early last year. High interest rates slow inflation by dragging the economy as a whole, already hurting manufacturing and other industries, and contributing to three major bankruptcies in the U.S. banking system.

The bank made maximum profits. Wells Fargo was up 4.5%, JPMorgan Chase & Co. was up 3.5% and US Bancorp was up 2.9%.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) said late Wednesday that the country’s 23 largest banks could weather a deep recession in the latest “stress test” of the system. Failure to pass the test would restrict banks from paying dividends or buying back shares to send cash to shareholders.

Banks can earn more from lending when the economy is doing well, but higher interest rates could put pressure on balance sheets.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday that the central bank is on the verge of bankruptcy after several banks collapsed as interest rates rose at a time of ultra-low interest rates, driving down the prices of the bonds and other investments they bought. He warned that the system might need to be more regulated.

Micron Technology slid 4.1% and surged further to the largest in the S&P 500 index as it expected bigger summer losses than analysts expected after the Chinese government ordered Chinese companies to refrain from using its products. fell.

In other trades on Friday, the dollar fell to 144.74 yen from 144.77 yen. The euro fell from $1.0867 to $1.0864.

US benchmark crude rose 8 cents to $69.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange electronically. It climbed 30 cents on Thursday to $69.86 a barrel.

International benchmark Brent crude rose 17 cents to $74.68 a barrel.