TOKYO (news agencies) — Asian shares mostly rose Tuesday, after technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record finish.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Monday from the previous session’s all-time high to post a record for the 54th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1%.
Some analysts think Japanese issues could end up benefiting as a result of Donald Trump’s latest threat on tariffs on China and other nations. The president-elect on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a group of developing economies, including China and Brazil, if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.8% in morning trading to 39,215.99. Tokyo Electron issues surged 4.4%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 8,504.00. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7% to 2,495.80, after inflation data showed a rebound but remained low enough to keep rate-cut thoughts alive for early 2025.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2% to 19,595.53, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,370.74.
On Wall Street, Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared 28.7% to lead the market.
Following allegations of misconduct and the resignation of its public auditor, the maker of servers used in artificial-intelligence technology said an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or by the company’s board.
Big Tech stocks also helped prop up the market. Gains of 1.8% for Microsoft and 3.2% for Meta Platforms were the two strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500.
Intel was another propellant during the morning, but it lost an early gain to fall 0.5% after the chip company said CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired and stepped down from the board. Intel is looking for Gelsinger’s replacement, and its chair said it’s “committed to restoring investor confidence.”
Intel recently lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia, which has skyrocketed in Wall Street’s frenzy around AI.
Stellantis, meanwhile, skidded following the announcement of its CEO’s departure. Carlos Tavares steps down after nearly four years in the top spot of the automaker, which owns car brands like Jeep, Citroën and Ram, amid an ongoing struggle with slumping sales and an inventory backlog at dealerships. The world’s fourth-largest automaker’s stock fell 6.3% in Milan.
The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 likewise fell, including California utility PG&E. It dropped 5% after saying it would sell $2.4 billion of stock and preferred shares to raise cash.
All told, the S&P 500 added 14.77 points to 6,047.15. The Dow fell 128.65 to 44,782.00, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 185.78 to 19,403.95.
In the bond market, Treasury yields gave up early gains to hold relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed above 4.23% during the morning before falling back to 4.19%. That was just above its level of 4.18% late Friday.
This upcoming week will bring several big updates on the U.S. job market, including the October job openings report, weekly unemployment benefits data and the all-important November jobs report. They could steer the next moves for Federal Reserve, which recently began pulling interest rates lower to give support to the economy.
Economists expect Friday’s headliner report to show U.S. employers accelerated their hiring in November, coming off October’s lackluster growth that was hampered by damaging hurricanes and strikes.
“We now find ourselves in the middle of this Goldilocks zone, where economic health supports earnings growth while remaining weak enough to justify potential Fed rate cuts,” according to Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 9 cents to $68.01 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 3 cents to $71.80 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 149.91 Japanese yen from 149.51 yen. The euro cost $1.0493, down from $1.0502.
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