BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed Monday in Asia, with South Korea’s benchmark down almost 3% and Hong Kong’s up nearly 3%, after U.S. stocks closed out last week with more records.
Oil prices rose after the weekend overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar Assad, who sought asylum in Moscow after rebels ended the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule, adding to uncertainty in a region fraught with conflict. U.S. benchmark crude oil jumped $1.01 to $68.20 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $1.35 to $72.08 per barrel.
The political situation remained tense in South Korea as local media reported that the police were considering imposing an overseas travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon’s status remained uncertain after he declared martial law last week in the midst of a budget dispute and then reversed that hours later.
The Kospi in Seoul slumped 2.8% to 2,360.58.
Chinese shares were mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rebounding from early losses to gain 2.8% to 20,414.09. The Shanghai Composite index fell less than 0.1% to 3,402.53. Investors took heart from the state media’s readout from a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo that pledged more support for the sluggish economy.
A major economic planning meeting later this week is expected to set the policy agenda for coming months, possibly bringing fresh stimulus for the world’s No. 2 economy.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.2% higher, to 39,160.50 after the government reported that the economy expanded at a 1.2% annual rate in July to September, higher than the initial estimate of 0.9% growth.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,423.00. India’s Sensex edged 0.1% lower, while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.3%. In Bangkok, the SET was down 0.3%.
On Friday, U.S. stocks rose to records after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not strong enough to raise immediate worries about inflation.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 6,090.27, just enough to log another all-time high, closing a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3% to 44,642.52, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8% to set its own record of 19,859.77.
The jobs report strengthened traders’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again at its next meeting in two weeks. It showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month, but also said the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%.