Asian Markets Lower After Wall Street Record

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Monday after Wall Street hit a new high and China reported a double-digit rise in exports. Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Sydney declined while Shanghai advanced, Joe McDonald reported for the Associated Press (AP) on Nov. 8, 2021.

Photo Insert: While Wall Street flourished, Asian markets suffered a bit.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.4% on Friday to a record for a seventh day after U.S. employers hired more people in October than expected. China’s October exports rose 27.1% over a year earlier, though that eased off the previous month’s 28.1% growth, customs data showed Sunday.

Despite that gain, Chinese anti-virus controls might dampen factory and consumer activity, “still bringing about an uncertain recovery picture,” Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a report.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.3% to 29,528.45 while the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.1% to 3,495.04. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.6% to 24,728.63. The Kospi in Seoul retreated 0.7% to 2,948.39 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 7,445.50.

India’s Sensex opened down 0.3% at 59,903.04. New Zealand retreated while Southeast Asia markets rose.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 4,697.53 after the government reported the U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs last month, better than the consensus forecast of 450,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 36,327.95, also hitting a new high. The Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to 15,971.59.

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