Asian markets were mostly higher in holiday-thinned trading on Ov FinanceTuesday, with some markets in the region closed for holidays.
U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher.
Shanghai’s benchmark led losses in Asia on heavy selling of technology and computer chip-related shares as worries revived over trade tensions with the U.S. and other western countries.
The Shanghai Composite index sank 0.7% to 2,898.88. In Shenzhen, where relatively more high-tech companies are listed, the A-share index lost 1.2%. Semiconductor-related shares fell 2.7% while consumer electronics shares lost 2.4%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.2% to 33,305.85. In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.1%, to 2,602.59. Bangkok’s SET rose 0.3%. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.8% and the Sensex in Mumbai was up 0.3%.
Markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed.
Japan’s unemployment rate remained stable at 2.5% in November, according to government data released on Tuesday. The job-to-applicants ratio experienced a slight easing, settling at 1.28, indicating there were around 128 job opportunities available for every 100 applicants.
On the other hand, Japan’s services producer price index, which measures the costs of goods and services provided by businesses to other firms and government entities, held steady at 2.3% in November. This indicates a gradual pass-on of rising labor costs and potential for sustained wage gains, supporting the Bank of Japan’s 2% inflation target.
U.S. and European markets were closed on Monday and some in Europe will remain closed for Boxing Day. On Friday, Wall Street closed its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish following reports showing inflation is on the decline even as the economy appears stronger than expected.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to sit less than 1% below its record set nearly two years ago, at 4,754.63. The Dow slipped less than 0.1% to 37,385.97, and the Nasdaq gained 0.2% to 14,992.97.
With its eight straight weekly gains, the S&P 500 is in the midst of its longest winning streak since 2017.
In other trading on Tuesday, a barrel of U.S. crude picked up 8 cents to $73.64 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 12 cents at $78.92 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 142.35 Japanese yen from 142.33 yen. The euro rose to $1.1024 from $1.1016.
2025-05-07 15:59644 view
2025-05-07 15:54445 view
2025-05-07 15:321100 view
2025-05-07 15:141978 view
2025-05-07 14:402551 view
2025-05-07 14:272808 view
Now that’s a lot of zeroes.Elon Musk − whose wealth and influence have skyrocketed since President-e
Pastry purveyors around the country are celebrating a favorite American treat on Friday, resurfacing
Well, Ariana Grande had the purr-fect cast for her new music video.After all, the Grammy winner enli