Asian markets mostly experienced declines following a period of mixed results on Wall Street, which saw a slowdown in momentum after a robust rally in early November.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped 2.2% to 17,445.56, largely influenced by a 10% decrease in Alibaba’s shares. This decline came after the Chinese e-commerce giant abandoned plans to separate its cloud computing division, citing uncertainties linked to U.S. chip restrictions. Alibaba’s shares also fell by up to 10% in New York trading on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index saw a modest decrease of 0.2%, closing at 3,046.15.
What happened overnight 🇺🇸 Wall Street experienced a varied close @ZaksTradersCafe The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended slightly lower, dropping 0.1% to 34,945.47, whereas the S&P 500 saw a marginal increase of 0.1%, reaching 4,508.24. Meanwhile, the tech-centric Nasdaq… https://t.co/K2rhxv1TMh pic.twitter.com/ZJkAoonBrm
— Share_Talk ™ (@Share_Talk) November 17, 2023
In contrast, Tokyo’s stock market reversed its initial losses, ending on a positive note. This change was attributed to comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, who reported to the parliament in his annual address that the bank does not plan to alter its highly accommodative monetary policy soon.
This policy has maintained interest rates at a negative 0.1% for an extended period. As a result, the Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5%, gaining 160.79 points to close at 33,585.20, while the broader Topix Index increased by 1%, adding 22.43 points to finish at 2,391.05.
In the United States, the stock markets showed little movement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly declined by 0.1% to 34,945.47, whereas the S&P 500 saw a marginal increase of 0.1%, reaching 4,508.24. The Nasdaq Composite, focusing on technology stocks, also rose by 0.1% to 14,113.67.
U.S. Treasury yields witnessed a decline following data indicating a higher-than-expected rise in unemployment claims. This data reinforced expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates next year. Consequently, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes dropped by 8.4 basis points to 4.453%.
