Asian Stocks Rise As Wall Street Breaks Declines

Asian stocks rose Monday, May 30, 2022, after Wall Street rebounded from a seven-week string of declines and China eased anti-virus curbs on business activity in Shanghai and Beijing, Joe McDonald reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The Shanghai Stock Exchange

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Sydney advanced. Oil stayed above $110 per barrel. On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index finished Friday up 6.6% for its biggest weekly gain in 18 months after surging inflation declined in April.

U.S. markets will be closed Monday for a holiday. “Markets rallied into the long weekend, providing a positive tone at the start of this week,” ING economists said in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.5% to 3,145.77 after more factories and shops in Beijing and Shanghai were allowed to reopen. Shanghai, China’s commercial capital, announced tax breaks and subsidies to help businesses recover from a two-month shutdown.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo surged 2.3% to 27,382.03 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.9% to 21,093.21. The Kospi in South Korea advanced 1.2% to 2,668.31. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was 1.4% higher at 7,2890.10.

India’s Sensex opened up 2.1% at 56,025.84. New Zealand and Singapore gained while Indonesia retreated. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 2.5% on Friday to 4,158.24, propelled by gains for tech companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8% to 33,212.96.

The Nasdaq, dominated by tech stocks, gained 3.3% to 12,131.13. Investors were relieved after Commerce Department data showed US inflation, which has prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, decelerated to 6.3% over a year earlier in April, its first decline in 17 months.

Markets are worried about whether the Fed can control inflation that is running at a four-decade high without tipping the biggest global economy into recession. The US market has been in a slump for the past two months over fears about interest rate hikes that might slow economic activity, the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine, and a Chinese economic slowdown.

Crude oil prices are up nearly 60% this year due to fears about disruptions in supplies from Russia, the second-biggest global exporter. Wheat prices are up about 50% and corn prices are up 30%.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 88 cents to $115.95 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, advanced 79 cents to $116.35 per barrel in London. The dollar edged down to 127.03 yen from Friday’s 127.10 yen. The euro rose to $1.0755 from $1.0733.

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