Asia Mixed After Wall Street Sinks

Asian stock markets were mixed Friday, May 5, 2023, after Wall Street sank on worries about the health of US banks that are under pressure from interest rate hikes, Joe McDonald reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: A scene from the trading floor of the Sao Paulo stock exchange

Shanghai declined while Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for the holidays.

Oil prices advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.7% on Thursday as investors worried about the health of banks following three high-profile failures in the United States and one in Switzerland.

Shares of PacWest Bancorp, a target of investor scrutiny, tumbled 50.6%. The bank said it was considering options and has been approached by potential partners and investors.

The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.7% to 3,326.18 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.6% to 20,063.58. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 7,213.90. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets declined.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell to 4,061.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9% to 33,127.74, putting it in negative territory for the year. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.5% to 11,966.40.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 43 cents to $68.99 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 4 cents on Thursday to $68.56.

Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added 47 cents to $72.97 per barrel in London. It advanced 17 cents from the previous session to $72.50. The dollar declined to 134.01 yen from Thursday’s 134.14 yen. The euro gained to $1.1042 from $1.1016.

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