Asian shares mixed after Wall Street hits record high


FE Team | Published: April 30, 2019 11:33:11 | Updated: May 02, 2019 11:07:14


File photo (Collected)

Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday after Wall Street hit a new high and Chinese factory grew in April but below the previous month's pace.

Benchmarks in Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney declined while Shanghai advanced. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, reports AP.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index moved further into record territory on Monday after Commerce Department data indicated the US economy is growing but not too fast.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent to 29,686.86 and Seoul's Kospi declined 1.1 per cent to 2,192.33, reports AP.

The Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.3 per cent at 3,072.24 while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.6 per cent to 6,322.60. Benchmarks in New Zealand and Southeast Asia advanced while Taiwan declined.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent on Monday to 2,943.03. Big gains for banks led the way on hopes for bigger profits from making loans, but losses for high dividend stocks held indexes in check.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1 per cent to 26,554.39. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.2 per cent to 8,161.85. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs.

Benchmark US crude lost 5 cents to $63.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 20 cents on Monday to close at $63.50 per barrel.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 16 cents to $71.38 per barrel in London. The contract rose 11 cents the previous session to $71.54.

The dollar edged down to 111.58 yen from Monday's 111.65 yen. The euro was little changed at $1.1189.

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