TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed in cautious trading Monday ahead of the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., when markets will be closed.
Investors also looked to the US jobs report due out on Friday as an indication of the strength of the US economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 38,797.61 in morning trading after the Finance Ministry said capital spending by Japanese companies rose 7.4% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier.
After a period of stagnation, Japan’s economy is showing signs of recovery. Next week, Japan will release revised gross domestic product, or GDP, data, a measure of the value of a country’s goods and services. Preliminary data released earlier showed the first growth in two quarters.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 8,067.00, while South Korea’s Kospi rose almost 0.1% to 2,676.28. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3% to 17,752.09. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% to 2,828.84.
There was some pessimism over China’s growth prospects over the weekend as the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the manufacturing PMI, a barometer of industrial production, fell to 49.1 from 49.4 in August, weaker than market expectations.
Wall Street closed broadly higher last week. The S&P 500 rose 1% for the week, with about 76% of the stocks in the index posting gains. The benchmark S&P 500 ended August with a gain of 2.3% for the month. It is now up 18.4% so far this year and is within 0.4% of the all-time high it hit in July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% on Friday, reaching its fourth highest level ever this week. The Nasdaq Composite closed 1.1% higher.
Recent reports on the U.S. economy, including inflation, consumer spending and income, have been encouraging. The Commerce Department said its report on personal consumption and expenditures showed prices rose 0.2% from June to July, up slightly from the 0.1% increase in the previous month.
That means price increases are slowing and will likely lead to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the first time in more than four years. Markets expect the Fed to begin cutting rates later this month.
In other encouraging news, Friday’s Commerce Department report showed that Americans increased their spending by 0.5% from June to July, and their incomes rose by 0.3% in July, faster than the previous month.
Bond yields were mixed, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury rising to 3.92% from 3.86% late Thursday.
The S&P 500 rose 56.44 points to 5,648.40. The Dow rose 228.03 points to close at 41,563.08. The Nasdaq gained 197.19 points to 17,713.62.
In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude fell 47 cents to $73.08 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 50 cents to $76.43 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 146.16 Japanese yen from 146.18 yen. The euro was worth $1.1055, up from $1.1053.
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Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama
