Asian stocks were mostly on Thursday after stocks made small gains on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the economy.
Landmarks increased in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney.
Shares fell in Shanghai after the Chinese market regulator said it had launched an antitrust investigation by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group 9988,
BABA,
intensify official efforts to strengthen control over fast-growing technology industries.
China is also stepping up its review of the practice of buying community groups, convening some of the country’s largest technology companies for debates as part of the antitrust push.
The Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation has also recently convened six companies, including Alibaba and other e-commerce platforms such as JD.com JD,
and Pinduoduo PDD,
Tencent 700 game company,
food distribution company Meituan 3690,
and car-sharing firm Didi Chuxing to talk about the possible ramifications of buying community groups.
The Shanghai SHCOMP Composite Index,
lost 0.2%. Shares also fell in the smallest market in southern China, Shenzhen 399106,
But elsewhere, Christmas night trading was optimistic. Tokyo NIK Nikkei Index 225,
gained 0.4% on Thursday and the Hang Seng HSI,
in Hong Kong increased by 0.2% more. In South Korea, the Kospi 180721,
jumped 1.3% and the S & P / ASX 200 XJO in Australia,
increased by 0.4%. Advanced Stocks in Taiwan Y9999,
and Singapore ITS,
“While a portfolio reshuffle was expected in emerging Asia before the holidays, the underlying issue is positive,” Jeffanda Halley of Oanda said in a comment.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 SPX,
increased 0.1% to 3,690.01. The benchmark index set a record on Thursday and rose 14.2% so far this year.
Profits in the financial, communications services, energy and other sectors remained controlled by falls elsewhere, including technology 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 signs and several disappointments.
The Department of Labor said last week there were fewer U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits. The number is still incredibly high compared to the pre-pandemic, but it was better than economists expected.
Another report said long-term goods orders strengthened with more than expected last month, a good sign for the country’s manufacturers.
But other reports were more cumbersome. Consumers withdrew their spending more than last month than economists expected. It was the first drop since April and was mainly due to falling revenues sharply in November, more than economists had predicted.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
added 0.4% to 30,129.83.
Stock futures initially fell after President Donald Trump said he might not sign the $ 900 billion bailout for the economy that Congress approved Monday night.
The hope in the markets had been that the package could mark the economy until widespread vaccinations could help the world return to normalcy. The legislation includes single $ 600 cash payments to most Americans, additional benefits for laid-off workers, and other financial aid.
Trump said Tuesday afternoon that he wants to see larger cash payments for most Americans, up to $ 2,000 for individuals. He also criticized other parts of the bill.
But stocks eventually drifted upward as investors looked beyond the unexpected setback.
“Despite the unraveling of Washington DC Lake by vetoes, new votes and cancellations, Wall Street clearly believes that something positive will float to the top of the barrel when the beat stops,” Halley said.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 0.95% from 0.90% last Tuesday.
In other operations, US reference crude oil CLG21,
earned 12 cents to $ 48.24 per barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday he earned between $ 1.10 and $ 48.12. Brent cru BRNG21,
the international standard, added 14 cents to $ 51.38 a barrel.
The USDJPY Dollar,
fell to 103.52 yen from 103.54 yen on Wednesday afternoon.