BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks started the week mixed in Asia after U.S. stocks fell to their biggest loss since Election Day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1% to 38,255.65 as the yen strengthened against the US dollar after central bank governor Kazuo Ueda indicated the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates continue to increase as conditions permit.
The dollar fell to 154.46 Japanese yen from 154.54 yen late Friday. Last week the price traded above 156 yen.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 2% to 2,465.60 after Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest company, announced a share buyback plan. Samsung shares rose 6%.
Chinese markets advanced, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adding 1.2% to 19,655.58. The Shanghai Composite index gained 1.2% to 3,372.18. Recent data showed improvements in retail spending, which economists say suggests government stimulus policies are boosting the stagnant economy.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 8,295.40. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.8% and Bangkok’s SET rose 0.6%.
On Friday, US stock prices tumbled as the “Trump bubble” that Wall Street experienced after last week’s presidential election waned, along with a cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 fell 1.3% to 5,870.62, its worst day since before Election Day and capped a losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 43,444.99, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.2% to 18,680.12.
Vaccine makers helped drag down the market after President-elect Donald Trump said he wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine activist, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Moderna tumbled 7.3% and Pfizer fell 4.7% on concerns about potential damage to profits.
Kennedy still needs Senate confirmation to get the job, and some analysts are skeptical about his chances.
Biotech stocks generally fell to the market’s worst losses, but the S&P 500’s sharpest decline came from Applied Materials. It fell 9.2% as it forecast a range of future earnings below analyst expectations, even as it reported stronger-than-expected profit for the latest quarter.
Companies are under pressure to achieve big growth because their stock prices have risen so much faster than their profits. That has made the stock market look pricey by a range of measures. The S&P 500 is still up 23% this year and not far off Monday’s all-time high despite last week’s weakness.
Stock prices had been broadly rising since Election Day, when Trump’s victory sent a jolt through financial markets around the world. Investors immediately began rushing into stocks of banks, smaller U.S. companies and cryptocurrencies as they bet on winners resulting from Trump’s preference for higher rates, lower tax rates and lighter regulations.
