Asian Shares Mixed As Recession Fears Plague Wall Street

Shares were mixed in Asia on Wednesday after a modestly higher close on Wall Street as concerns over pressures on global growth tempered gains in the absence of major data releases, Elaine Kurtenbach reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Shares rose in Bangkok and Taiwan but fell in Mumbai.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.2%, to 26,387.72, a day after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) gave in to pressure on the yen by expanding the cap on the yield of the 10-year Japanese government bond to 0.50%. It had been 0.25%. On Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 lost 2.5%.

The slight softening of the Japanese central bank’s opposition to raising interest rates to cut inflation rattled world markets Tuesday, with bond yields pushing higher. The BOJ has kept its key lending rate at minus 0.1% for years, trying to spur growth by keeping credit ultra-cheap.

In other Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up less than 0.1% to 19,103.10 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.3% to 3,065.78. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2% to 2,328.95. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.3% to 7,115.10. Shares rose in Bangkok and Taiwan but fell in Mumbai.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% after flipping between small losses and gains in the early going. It closed at 3,821.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 32,849.74 and the Nasdaq composite barely budged after closing less than 0.1% higher, at 10,547.11.

Small company stocks outdid the broader market, lifting the Russell 2000 index 0.5% higher, to 1,748.02. The muted gains were enough to end a four-day losing streak for the major indexes.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.70% from 3.59% late Monday. That yield helps set rates for mortgages and other economy-setting loans, which has already meant particular pain for the U.S. housing market.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic