BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday as caution revives over a likely deepening of trade friction once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
U.S. futures fell while oil prices were higher. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday to observe a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.
Shares fell in Tokyo after Japan reported strong wage growth for November, data that might help persuade its central bank to raise interest rates. The Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.9% to 39,605.09, while the dollar slipped against the Japanese yen. A dollar bought 158.11 yen, down from 158.36 late Wednesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.1% lower, to 19,257.56, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.6% to 3,211.39. The government reported that the consumer price index rose 0.1% in December from a year earlier, while wholesale or producer prices dropped 2.3%, signaling that demand remains slack in the world’s second-largest economy.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.2% to 8,329.20.
South Korea’s Kospi edged less than 0.1% higher, to 2,521.90 despite strong gains for technology companies and automakers.
Taiwan’s Taiex sank 1.4% and the Sensex in India was down 0.5%. In Bangkok, the SET slipped 1.5%.
“Investors continue to navigate the unpredictable ‘what if’ trading landscape molded by Trump’s presidency — where the initial enthusiasm for tax cuts is now overshadowed by mounting concerns over proposed tariffs and bizarre geopolitical aspirations, like purchasing Greenland or exerting more control over the Panama Canal,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
On Wednesday, Wall Street was steady a day after strong reports on the economy stirred up worries that inflation and interest rates may remain higher than expected.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 5,918.25 to recover a bit of its 1.1% slump from the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% to 42,635.20, and the Nasdaq composite edged 0.1% lower to 19,478.88. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks fell 0.5%.
Edison International tumbled 10.2% as massive wildfires burned in the Los Angeles area. The company’s Southern California Edison utility said Wednesday it shut off power to nearly 120,000 customers in six counties over safety concerns due to high winds and the risk of wildfires.
On the winning end of Wall Street, eBay jumped 9.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. It’s beginning a collaboration with Meta Platforms where a pilot of select eBay listings will appear on Facebook Marketplace in the United States, Germany, and France.
The bond market which has been a bigger focus for Wall Street recently, moved in a narrow range after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in a speech Wednesday that he still expects the central bank to ease rates further in 2025, pushing back against speculation it may already be done after cutting three times since September.
The yield on the two-year Treasury, which tends to closely track expectations for Fed action, fell to 4.27% from 4.29% late Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which is the centerpiece of the bond market, eased to 4.67% from 4.69% late Tuesday. It was below 3.65% in September.
Waller said he doesn’t expect tariffs that are possibly coming under President-elect Donald Trump to have a “significant or persistent effect” on inflation. And even though inflation has shown stubbornness recently, he still sees it trending downward over the long term.
Higher bond yields hurt stocks by making it more expensive for companies and households to borrow and by pulling some investors toward bonds and away from stocks.
Reports on the economy Wednesday were weaker than Tuesday’s, adding to hope for cuts to short-term interest rates that can goose the economy and boost prices for investments.
A report Wednesday suggested that U.S. private sector employers slowed their hiring in December by more than economists expected. That could offer a hint of what Friday’s more comprehensive jobs report from the Labor Department will show. The hope is that the jobs report will show enough strength to keep worries of a recession stifled but not so much that it keeps the Fed from cutting rates.
A separate report on Wednesday, meanwhile, said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. It’s the latest signal that the job market remains remarkably solid.
In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil edged 5 cents higher to $73.38 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was also up 5 cents, at $76.21 per barrel.
The euro fell to $1.0304 from $1.0319.
Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press
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