Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street rose and the Federal Reserve's chairman said it will raise interest rates further if needed to cool inflation,
As Shanghai and Hong Kong declined Tokyo and Seoul advanced Oil prices rose to stay above $110 per barrel
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index rose by an unusually wide daily margin of 2% after positive US retail sales data helped to offset concern about inflation
The Fed will “have to consider moving more aggressively” if inflation that is running at a four-decade high fails to ease after earlier rate hikes, chair Jerome Powell said at a Wall Street Journal conference
Expectations of rate hikes “ticked higher” due to Powell's comments, but “markets are shrugging it off and are in need of a breather” after a sell-off, IG said in a report
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0 5% to 3,077 88 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 0 7% to 20,470 28
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0 7% after the government reported economic output shrank 0 2% in the first three months of 2022 That was stronger than expectations
The Seoul gained 0.2% to 2,626 91 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 advanced 1% to 7,183 30
New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets rose
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 advanced to 4,088 85 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 3% to 32,654 59 The Nasdaq gained 2.8% to 11,984 52
Big tech stocks led the rally Apple and Microsoft were among the biggest winners
Small-company stocks rose more than the rest of the market, a signal that investors are feeling bullish about the economy Treasury yields rose
Investors welcomed a Commerce Department report that showed retail sales rose 0.9% in April
Consumers are providing critical support to the economy despite higher costs for gas, food and rent The economy contracted in the first three months of the year, but consumer and business spending still increased at a healthy pace
The Fed and other central banks are raising interest rates that have been near zero during the coronavirus pandemic or say they plan to in order to cool inflation
Supply chain problems have prompted businesses to raise prices on everything from food to clothing as demand rebounds after the pandemic
Oil and gas prices have been pushed up by Russia's war on Ukraine, which fueled fears Russian supplies might be disrupted
In energy markets, benchmark US crude rose $1 13 per barrel to $113 52 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange The contract fell $1 80 on Tuesday to $112 40 Brent Crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added 60 cents to $112 53 per barrel in London It lost $2 31 the previous session to $111 93
In energy markets, benchmark US crude rose $1 13 per barrel to $113 52 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange The contract fell $1.80 on Tuesday to $112 40 Brent Crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added 60 cents to $112 53 per barrel in London It lost $2 31 the previous session to $111 93
The dollar declined to 129 17 yen from Tuesday's 129 42 yen The euro sank to $1.0531 from $1 0543
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