Asian Benchmarks Mixed As Markets Eye Inflation Risks

Asian shares were mixed in Monday trading, Nov. 14, 2022, as momentum faded from last week’s rally on Wall Street amid varied sentiments about COVID restrictions easing in China and global interest rate increases, Yuri Kageyama reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.1% to 2,480.24.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped nearly 0.1% in afternoon trading to 28,028.74. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down nearly 0.2% to 7,146.30. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.1% to 2,480.24.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.7% to 17,615.00, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed inching down less than 0.1% to 3,084.72.

The S&P 500 rose 36.56 points, or 5.5%, for its best day in more than two years, to 3,992.93. Its 5.9% gain for the week was its third in the last four and its biggest since June. The Dow rose 32.49, or 0.1%, to 33,747.86, and the Nasdaq climbed 209.18, or 1.9%, to 11.323.33. Both also notched hefty gains for the week.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude lost 61 cents to $88.35 a barrel after gaining 2.9% to $88.96 per barrel Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 56 cents to $95.43 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 139.48 Japanese yen from 138.76 yen. The euro cost $1.0304, down from $1.0356.

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