Asian Shares Mixed as Wall Street Lull Continues, Chinese Benchmarks Rise
Asian Shares Mixed as Wall Street Lull Continues, China Reports Strong Trade Figures
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Thursday as Wall Street’s quiet trading extended into a second day. Chinese benchmarks saw gains after China reported better than expected trade figures for April.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was up 0.5% at 38,392.10. However, automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp.’s shares dropped 4.7% in early trading after forecasting a 7% lower net profit for the fiscal year ending in March 2025.
Toyota Motor edged 0.1% higher after doubling its net profit in the fiscal year that ended in March. The U.S. dollar also rose against the Japanese yen, with reports speculating on potential intervention by the Finance Ministry to curb the yen’s slide.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.2% and the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.9% after China reported a 1.5% increase in exports and an 8.4% jump in imports for April, indicating a stronger recovery in demand.
However, in South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.6%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.9%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 finished virtually unchanged, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.
Uber Technologies and Shopify reported worse results than expected, causing their shares to drop significantly. Match Group, Intel, and Lyft also saw fluctuations in their stock prices after reporting earnings.
Despite the mixed performance in the stock market, most companies have been reporting stronger profits than analysts expected. This, coupled with hopes for potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, has helped the U.S. stock market recover from a rough April.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil rose to $79.47 per barrel, and the euro rose to $1.0751. Overall, the market remains uncertain as investors navigate through various economic indicators and corporate earnings reports.
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.