Asian Benchmarks Climb Despite Worries About U.S. Economy

Despite concerns about the economic outlook and inflation in the US and other parts of the world, Asian shares mostly advanced, as reported by Yuri Kageyama and Stan Choe for the Associated Press (AP).

The Bank of Japan concluded its policy meeting without major changes, maintaining its benchmark interest rate within a range of 0 to 0.1%. I Photo: Asturio Cantabrio Wikimedia Commons

The Bank of Japan concluded its policy meeting without major changes, maintaining its benchmark interest rate within a range of 0 to 0.1%.

The Nikkei 225 index in Japan rose by 0.4% in morning trading. However, concerns have been raised by Japanese officials, including Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, about the adverse long-term effects of an overly weak currency on the Japanese economy.

On Wall Street, worries persisted about high inflation coupled with a sluggish economy, leading to a decline in stock prices.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq composite all experienced declines, with Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) notably dropping despite reporting better-than-expected profits.

Investors focused on Meta's increased spending on artificial intelligence, which slightly overshadowed its positive earnings report.