Asian shares mostly slipped Thursday, as the region’s main stock market in Tokyo stayed closed for the New Year’s holidays.
Investors remained cautious amid worries about what incoming U.S. President Donald Trump might mean for policy changes, while the political uncertainty in South Korea added to a wait-and-see mood.
Australia’s S&P/ASx 200 rose 0.4% in early trading to 8,193.90. South Korea’s Kospi declined nearly 0.1% to 2,397.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.3% to 19,807.19, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.8% to 3,325.56.
Wall Street trading was closed on Wednesday for the New Year’s Day holiday.
On Thursday, investors will get an updated snapshot of U.S. construction spending for November, while U.S. manufacturing numbers for December will be released Friday.
Markets pause to mourn Carter
The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will close their equity and options markets on January 9 in observance of a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter, continuing a longtime Wall Street tradition of mourning the nation’s leaders. The 39th U.S. president and global humanitarian died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old.
U.S. stock indexes closed mostly lower Tuesday as the market delivered a downbeat finish on the final day of another milestone-shattering year on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 gave up an early gain to finish down 0.4%. The benchmark index, which set 57 record highs in 2024, racked up a 23.3% gain for the year. This was its second straight year with a gain of more than 20%. The last time the index had as big a back-to-back annual gain was 1998.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.9%.
Big Tech stocks led this year’s rally, pushing the Nasdaq to a yearly gain of 28.6%. The Dow, which is far less heavily weighted with tech, rose 12.9% for the year.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 25.31 points to 5,881.63 on Tuesday. The Dow lost 29.51 points to close at 42,544.22, and the Nasdaq slid 175.99 points to finish at 19,310.79.
Growth helps drive US market
U.S. markets’ stellar run was driven by a growing economy, solid consumer spending and a strong jobs market.
Skyrocketing prices for companies in the artificial-intelligence business, such as Nvidia and Super Micro Computer, helped lift the market to new heights.
After three interest rate cuts in 2024, the Fed has signaled a more cautious approach heading into 2025 with inflation remaining sticky as the country prepares for Trump to transition into the White House. Trump’s threats to hike tariffs on imported goods have raised anxiety that inflation could be reignited as companies pass along the cost of tariffs.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 36 cents to $72.08 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 34 cents to $74.98 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched down to 157.28 Japanese yen from 157.24 yen. The euro cost $1.0373, up from $1.0361.
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