HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday after U.S. stocks fell as the market’s big rally after Trump’s election victory continued to cool.
US futures and oil prices were lower.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 38,642.91. The yen has weakened against the U.S. dollar, boosting stock prices of exporters such as Nissan Motor Co., whose shares rose 4.5% on Friday.
Japan’s economy grew at an annual rate of 0.9% in the July-September quarter, higher than the 0.5% increase in the previous quarter, even as the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate to 0.1% in July 0.25%. The BOJ said at its October meeting that it plans to continue raising rates, with a potential target of 1% in the second half of the next fiscal year, starting in April, if economic activity and prices develop as expected.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.1% to 19,454.41 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 1.5% to 3,330.73 after a National Bureau of Statistics report on Friday showed that retail sales of the country rose 4.8% year-on-year in October, beating forecasts. But industrial production slowed from the previous month and improvements in the real estate sector were marginal.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 8,285.20, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1% to 2,416.86.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 5,949.17, although still close to Monday’s all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 43,750.86, and the Nasdaq index fell 0.6% to 19,107.65.
Some of the stocks that saw the biggest gains from Trump’s election lost momentum. Tesla fell 5.8%, which was only its second loss since Election Day. It is run by Elon Musk, who has become a close ally of Trump.
Smaller stocks also fell faster than the rest of the market, with the Russell 2000 small-stock index losing 1.4%. It’s a reversal from the immediate aftermath of the election, when the thinking was that an “America First” president would benefit domestically focused companies more than large multinationals that could be hurt by tariffs and trade wars .
Stocks also felt the effects of fluctuating bond market yields following the latest better-than-expected economic reports and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The Fed cut its key interest rate for the second time this year earlier this month to ease pressure on the economy, and investors are hungry for more.
But short-term rates rose after Powell said: “The economy is not signaling that we need to rush into cutting rates. The strength we see in the economy right now gives us the opportunity to approach our decisions carefully.”
