Asian shares are mixed after Nvidia nudges Nasdaq to a record, while other US stocks slump
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% to 39,895.84 as the U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen, trading near 149 yen. Investors are focused on the potential impact of an election for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday that is expected to lead to tax cuts and higher spending as lawmakers try to restore the waning popularity of the ruling Liberal Democrats.
Worries over a deterioration in Japan's fiscal health have pushed yields of long-term Japanese government bonds to their highest levels in years.
'What's at stake isn't simply which party hands out the biggest bundle of goodies. It's whether the walls holding up Japan's house of debt can withstand another round of fiscal fireworks…' Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3% to 24,658.55 while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1% to 3,500.62.
South Korea's Kospi lost 0.7% to 3,192.97 and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.8% to 8,558.10.
Taiwan's Taiex jumped 0.8% and India's Sensex gave up 0.1%. Thailand's SET was little changed.
In Jakarta, shares rose 0.7% after President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he plans to tariff imports from Indonesia at 19%, while American goods sent to the Southeast Asian country will face no tariffs. Trump also said Indonesia committed to buying U.S. energy, agricultural products and aircraft.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 6,243.76, but stayed near its all-time high set last week, as 90% of the stocks within the index fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1% to 44,023.29.
The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to a record 20,677.80 thanks to Nvidia, the market's most influential stock.
Nvidia said the U.S. government has assured it that licenses will be granted for its H20 chip, used for artificial intelligence, again and that deliveries will hopefully begin soon. Its 4% gain was by far the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500.
Stocks of big U.S. banks were mixed following their latest profit reports. JPMorgan Chase slipped 0.7% despite reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected, as CEO Jamie Dimon warned of risks to the economy because of tariffs and other concerns.
Citigroup rose 3.7% following its better-than-expected profit report. But Wells Fargo fell 5.5% following its own, as it trimmed its forecast for an important way that it makes money.
A report showed inflation in the United States accelerated to 2.7% last month from 2.4% in May as prices rose for clothes, toys and other goods that usually are imported. Economists say prices may be rising because of stiff tariffs that President Donald Trump has proposed on other countries.
Treasury yields yo-yoed after the report and then began rising.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.48% from 4.43% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with short-term interest rates, rose to 3.95% from 3.90%.
Higher inflation could inhibit interest rate cuts by the Fed. It has been keeping rates on hold this year after cutting them at the end of last year. That's because lower rates can give inflation more fuel, along with a boost for the economy. Wall Street loves lower rates because they goose prices higher for stocks and other investments, and Trump himself has been clamoring for the Fed to cut more quickly.
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though, has been adamant that he wants to wait for more data about how tariffs affect the economy and inflation. Following Tuesday's inflation report, traders are still overwhelmingly betting that the Fed will cut its main interest rate by the end of the year. But they pulled back their bets on the number of potential cuts, according to data from CME Group.
In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 26 cents to $66.78 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 15 cents at $68.86 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 148.94 Japanese yen from 148.87 yen. The euro was at $1.1622, up from $1.1602.
___
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
14 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
With Columbia as a model, White House seeks fines in potential deals with Harvard and others
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is pursuing heavy fines from Harvard and other universities as part of potential settlements to end investigations into campus antisemitism, using the deal it struck with Columbia University as a template, according to an administration official familiar with the matter. Fines have become a staple of proposed deals in talks with Harvard and other schools, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The new strategy was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Federal civil rights investigations into schools and universities almost always have been resolved through voluntary settlements, yet they rarely include financial penalties. The Biden administration reached dozens of such deals with universities and none included fines. Columbia's settlement with the Trump administration included a $200 million fine in exchange for regaining access to federal funding and closing investigations accusing Columbia of tolerating harassment of Jewish students and employees. The agreement announced Wednesday also orders Columbia to ensure its admissions and hiring decisions are 'merit-based' with no consideration of race, to hire more Jewish studies faculty, and to reduce the university's reliance on international students, among other changes. It places Columbia under the watch of an independent monitor and requires regular disclosures to the government. The agreement deal includes a clause forbidding the government from directly dictating decisions on hiring, admissions or academics. Columbia leaders said it preserves the university's autonomy while restoring the flow of federal money. The Trump administration is investigating dozens of universities over allegations that they failed to address campus antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war, and several institutions have faced federal funding freezes, like those at Columbia and Harvard. The federal government has frozen more than $1 billion at Cornell University, along with $790 million at Northwestern University. In announcing the Columbia settlement, administration officials described it as a template for other universities. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called it a 'roadmap' for colleges looking to regain public trust, saying it would 'ripple across the higher education sector and change the course of campus culture for years to come.' As Trump departed the White House on Friday, he told reporters that Harvard 'wants to settle' but that Columbia 'handled it better.' The president said he's optimistic his administration will prevail in Harvard's legal challenge — at least on appeal — and he suggested Harvard may never regain the level of federal funding it received in the past. 'The bottom line is we're not going to give any more money to Harvard,' he said. 'We want to spread the wealth.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
CBC
15 minutes ago
- CBC
The opening of Windsor's highly anticipated Gordie Howe bridge could be delayed until 2026
The opening of the new bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., could be delayed into 2026 due to delays completing the ports of entry on either side of the border, according to a report from ratings agency S&P Global. The CBC's Chris Ensing reports.
Toronto Star
44 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Policy officially takes over for Murphy as president/CEO at Packers' shareholders meeting
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Ed Policy began his tenure as the Green Bay Packers' president/CEO by paying tribute to his predecessor. Policy officially took over for Mark Murphy on Friday as the NFL's only publicly owned franchise held its annual shareholders meeting. During Murphy's 17 seasons on the job, the Packers made 13 playoff appearances, with the 2010 team winning a Super Bowl.
