Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street suffers worst loss since Election Day

[November 18, 2024]  By ELAINE KURTENBACH

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares started out the week mixed in Asia after U.S. stocks fell to their worst loss since Election Day.

U.S. futures were higher, with the S&P 500 contract up 0.3% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1% as speculation mounted over who President-elect Donald Trump might nominate to be his Treasury secretary.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.1% to 38,220.85 as the yen initially regained some strength against the U.S. dollar after the central bank governor, Kazuo Ueda, indicated that the Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates as conditions permit.

The dollar inched up to 154.58 Japanese yen from 154.54 yen late Friday. It had been trading above 156 yen last week.

South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.2% to 2,469.07 after Samsung Electronics, the country's biggest company, announced a share buyback plan. Samsung's shares jumped 6%.

Chinese markets were mixed. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.8% to 19,572.34, while the Shanghai Composite index shed early gains to close down 0.2% at 3,323.55.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.2% higher, to 8,300.20. Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.9% and the SET in Bangkok picked up 0.8% as the government announced that Thailand's economy grew more than expected in the last quarter.

On Friday, U.S. stocks tumbled Friday with the waning of the “Trump bump” that Wall Street got from last week’s presidential election, along with a cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.3% to 5,870.62, for its worst day since before Election Day to close out a losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 43,444.99, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.2% to 18,680.12.

Vaccine manufacturers helped drag the market down after President-elect Donald Trump said he wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine activist, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Moderna tumbled 7.3%, and Pfizer fell 4.7% amid concerns about a possible hit to profits.

Kennedy still needs confirmation from the Senate to get the job, and some analysts are skeptical about his chances.

Biotech stocks broadly sank to some of the market’s worst losses, but the sharpest drop in the S&P 500 came from Applied Materials. It fell 9.2% as it forecast a range of future revenue below analysts' expectations, even though it reported a stronger-than-anticipated profit for the latest quarter.

A passerby moves past an electronic stock board showing Japan's stock prices outside a securities firm in Tokyo, on Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

Companies face pressure to deliver big growth since their stock prices have been rising so much faster than their earnings. That’s made the stock market look pricey by a range of measures. The S&P 500 is still up 23% for the year and not far from its all-time high set on Monday, despite last week’s weakness.

Stocks had been broadly roaring since Election Day, when Trump’s victory sent a jolt through financial markets worldwide. Investors immediately began sending up stocks of banks, smaller U.S. companies and cryptocurrencies as they laid bets on the winners coming out of Trump’s preference for higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation.

But investors are also taking into account some of the potential downsides from Trump’s return to the White House, including worries that his policies could spur bigger U.S. government deficits and faster inflation.

That’s forced traders to rethink how much relief the Federal Reserve could give the economy next year through cuts to interest rates. The Fed earlier this month lowered its main interest rate for the second time this year, and past forecasts indicated Fed officials saw more cuts as likely through 2025.

On Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested the U.S. central bank may be cautious about future decisions on interest rates. “The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates,” Powell said, though he declined to discuss how Trump’s potential policies could alter things.

A report Friday showed shoppers spent more at U.S. retailers last month than expected, suggesting consumer spending, the most influential force on the economy, remains solid.

In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 13 cents to $67.15 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude climbed 27 cents to $71.31 per barrel.

The euro bought $1.0543, up from $1.0534 late Friday.

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