Asian markets remained largely subdued as investors considered the impact of new political uncertainty in Europe following gains by right-wing parties in the EU parliament elections and a snap election announcement in France.
Most movements were minor, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declining by 0.5% in low-volume trading.
Chinese blue-chip stocks dropped by 1.2% after being closed on Monday, while the yuan fell to a seven-month low.
Conversely, Japan’s Nikkei index increased by 0.3%, and South Korean stocks rose by 0.4%.
In the US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite index both achieved their second record closing highs within four days. The S&P 500 rose by 0.3% to reach 5,360.79, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed by 0.4%, closing at 17,192.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, comprising 30 leading American companies, increased by 0.2% to 38,868.04.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose to 4.469%, up from 4.428% late on Friday.
Overnight in the US, Apple unveiled a significant partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Siri, marking its new venture into AI.
Dubbed “Apple Intelligence,” the initiative aims to enhance user experiences by rewriting, suggesting, and summarizing text, as well as editing photos based on context or specific requests.
In contrast, London’s stock market faced another setback as the Walgreens Boots Alliance announced it had scrapped plans to list the high street pharmacy chain.
Hopes for a UK float have been replaced with plans for a sale, with private equity firms reportedly showing interest in the group, according to Bloomberg.
