TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed in early Thursday trading, as investors tried to digest the recent swings in oil prices and the U.S. bond market.
asserted
investors → trade → prices
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% in morning trading to 65,883.41, as some chipmakers got a boost from the recent interest in artificial intelligence.
asserted
chipmakers → gain → intelligence
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% to 8,700.50.
asserted
ASX → fall → 8,700.50
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.5% to 24,715.95, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.8% to 3,902.33.
asserted
Composite → lose → 3,902.33
Trading was closed in South Korea for the Chuseok autumn harvest holiday.
asserted
Trading → close → holiday
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.82% to $91.40 a barrel.
asserted
crude → fall → 91.40
Brent crude, the international standard, lost 0.83% to $102.22 a barrel.
asserted
crude → lose → 102.22
The price for a barrel of Brent remains much higher than the roughly $72 it cost before the war with Iran began and worries are running high that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East for a long time.
asserted
war → remain → time
Talks are continuing with mediators between U.S. and Iranian officials, but nothing concrete has come from it yet.
asserted
nothing → continue → it
Overnight, Wall Street got hit by pressure from the U.S. bond market after a surprisingly strong report on the economy raised worries about inflation.
asserted
report → hit → inflation
The S&P 500 fell 0.8% after finishing the prior day just 0.4% below its record set last month.
asserted
S&P → fall → record
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 352 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.1% from its own all-time high.
asserted
composite → drop → high
The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 5.10% from 4.96%, a considerable move for the bond market.
asserted
yield → jump → market
High yields undercut prices for stocks and other investments, while also slowing the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money.
asserted
everyone → undercut → money
Wednesday’s jump briefly sent the 10-year yield near 5.14%, back to where it was in 2007 before the global financial crisis caused yields to crater.
asserted
yields → send → 2007
Yields have accelerated recently because of worries about high inflation, the U.S. government’s heavy debt and other concerns.
asserted
Yields → accelerate → inflation
Worries about inflation got a jolt after a preliminary report suggested growth in U.S. business activity surged to its strongest level in more than five years.
uncertain
growth → get → years
U.S. inflation has remained so stubbornly high that the Federal Reserve raised its short-term interest rate last week for the first time in three years.
asserted
Reserve → remain → years
Fed Gov. Michael Barr said in a speech this week that further hikes “are likely to be needed” to get inflation to the Fed’s 2% target.
asserted
inflation → say → target
Although the Bank of Japan recently raised its benchmark interest rate to stem the slide in the Japanese yen, the move was largely figured in for weeks.
asserted
move → raise → weeks
And so the yen hasn’t really bounced back.
asserted
yen → bounce → ?
A weak yen works as a negative for oil-importing Japan when oil prices are soaring.
asserted
prices → work → Japan
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged down to 157.94 Japanese yen from 158.30 yen.
asserted
dollar → edge → yen
The euro cost $1.1382, little changed from $1.1388.
asserted
euro → cost → 1.1388
All told, the S&P 500 fell 58.61 points to 7,706.03.
asserted
S&P → tell → 7,706.03
The Dow dropped 352.10 to 51,511.59, and the Nasdaq composite sank 308.24 to 26,936.04.
asserted
composite → drop → 26,936.04
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
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asserted
Choe → contribute → report
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