Asian Stocks Mixed; Wall Street Shows Fears Of Another Rate Hike

Asian stocks were mixed on Monday, August 8, 2022, after strong US jobs data cleared the way for more interest rate hikes and China reported its exports rose by double digits, Joe McDonald reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.7% to 20,055.39 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.2% to 28,241.09.

Shanghai and Tokyo advanced while Hong Kong and Seoul retreated. Oil prices edged higher. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.2% on Friday after government data showed American employers added more jobs than expected in June.

That undercut expectations a slowing economy might prompt the Fed to postpone or scale back plans for more rate hikes to cool inflation.

“Now it seems they will be debating whether they need to be even more aggressive,” Edward Moya of Oanda said in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index shed less than 0.1% to 3,226.04 after China’s July exports rose 18%, beating forecasts. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.7% to 20,055.39 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.2% to 28,241.09.

The Kospi in Seoul declined 0.3% to 2,482.32 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.1% to 7,005.40.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 declined to 4,145.19 on Friday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 32,803.47. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.5% at 12,657.55.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude edged up 7 cents to $89.08 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 47 cents to $89.01 on Friday. Brent crude, the price basis for international trading, added 1 cent to $94.93 per barrel in London. It gained 80 cents to $94.92 the previous session.

The dollar rose to 135.28 yen from Friday’s 135.11 yen. The euro advanced to $1.0181 from $1.0178.

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