Stocks dip in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai
BEIJING — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower Friday as a rally cooled and investors waited for U.S. inflation data that might influence a Federal Reserve decision on when to roll back economic stimulus.
The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.18% lost 0.3% and the Nikkei 225 NIK, -1.00% in Tokyo shed 0.4%. The Hang Seng HSI, -1.07% in Hong Kong retreated 0.5%.
The Kospi 180721, -0.64% in Seoul gave up 0.7% and Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.42% was 0.5% lower. Stocks gained in Malaysia FBMKLCI, -0.86%, but fell in Singapore STI, -0.22%, Taiwan Y9999, -0.49% and Indonesia JAKIDX, +0.14%.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell after three days of gains. More than three-quarters of companies in the index closed lower.
Investors looked ahead to U.S. consumer price data for November. Fed officials, due to meet next week, said earlier they were ready to take action if needed to cool inflation, which hit a 30-year high in October.
Traders were “potentially taking some risks off the table” while they wait for the numbers, said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.72% fell 0.7% to 4,667.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.00% slipped less than 1 point to 35,754.69. The Nasdaq COMP, -1.71% lost lost 1.7% to 15,517.37.
The S&P 500 had gained 3.6% over the previous three days after the chief White House medical adviser said the omicron variant might not be as dangerous as the earlier delta. That eased fears of more restrictions on travel and business.
The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in 52 years.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude CLF22, 0.97% gained 7 cents to $71.01 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.42 on Thursday to $70.94. Brent crude BRNG22, 0.86%, the price basis for international oils, advanced 8 cents to $74.50 per barrel in London. It lost $1.40 the previous session to $74.42.
The dollar USDJPY, 0.21% was little-changed at 113.49 yen.
