Asian Shares Mostly Higher as Wall Street Finishes Strong Week
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Monday after reports of decreasing inflation and signs of economic growth in the U.S. lifted investors’ sentiment. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to 33,254.03 and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 2,918.93.
Most markets in the region were closed for the Christmas holiday, but Chinese regulators made announcements that affected the market. They issued approvals for more than 100 online games and expressed support for the industry following a plunge in share prices of major game makers. The news caused the Taiex in Taiwan to gain 0.1% and Bangkok’s SET to rise 0.1%.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to sit less than 1% below its record set nearly two years ago, at 4,754.63. The Dow slipped less than 0.1% to 37,385.97, and the Nasdaq gained 0.2% to 14,992.97, capping off an eighth straight winning week, the longest streak since 2017.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation slowed to 2.6% in November from 2.9% in the previous month, lower than expected. Additionally, other economic reports released on Friday showed unexpected consumer spending growth, stronger durable goods orders, weaker new home sales, and improved consumer sentiment.
The Federal Reserve is now facing the challenge of balancing interest rates to cool inflation without causing a recession, as traders are starting to bet on rate cuts by at least 1.5 percentage points by the end of next year.
In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar fell to 142.38 Japanese yen from 142.49 yen and the euro rose to $1.1029 from $1.1019.