Rising energy prices are ‘adding to the worries about recessions’ in some parts of the world
Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday, as pessimism
prevailed about higher interest rates ahead and Wall Street shares fell for the
fourth straight week.
Shares fell in early trading in Tokyo, Sydney, South Korea
and Hong Kong, but were little changed in Shanghai. Oil prices fell, while the
Japanese yen continued to decline against the U.S. dollar to nearly 144 yen.
"The mood in markets is defensive
ahead of key central bank decisions," said Anderson Alves at
ActivTrades.
Rising energy prices are adding to the worries about
recessions in some parts of the world, he said.
In Japan, the government is giving 50,000 yen ($350) to
needy families, to help cope with daily needs and energy prices in a move also
designed to boost the lagging economy.
Supply side worries
"The real solution to this inflation crisis obviously
lies on the supply side, in terms of energy and other key goods. Yet that
really takes us a step away from inflation-targeting and back towards an echo
of how macro-stability was previously achieved," according to
RaboResearch.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed nearly 1.0% in morning
trading to 27,362.83. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.3% to 6,735.80.
South Korea's Kospi slid 1.5% to 2,373.14. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 1.7% to
18,884.75, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed at 3,243.55.
Shares fell on Wall Street coming into a holiday-shortened
week. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% after bouncing between a gain of 0.5% and a
loss of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq lost
indexes are coming off their third losing week in a row, part of a
late-summer slump that erased much of the benchmark S&P 500's gains from
July and early August.
Stocks have been losing ground as the Federal Reserve has
indicated it will not let up anytime soon on raising interest rates to bring
down the highest inflation in decades.
Brewing energy crisis
In addition, Wall Street is grappling with worries about a
brewing energy crisis in Europe and the implications it could have for the
global economy and corporate profits, given that companies in the S&P 500
get half their revenue from abroad, said Michael Antonelli, market strategist
at Baird.
"Each day that goes by that we have to talk about an
energy crisis or a gas shortage or out of control electrical bills in Europe,
the less the market can make constructive headway," he said.
The S&P 500 fell 16.07 points to 3,908.19. The Dow slid
173.14 points to 31,145.30, while the Nasdaq fell 85.96 points to 11,544.91.
Smaller company stocks fell more than the broader market. The Russell 2000
index fell 17.42 points, or 1%, to 1,792.32.
Technology and communications stocks were among the biggest
losers.
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) fell 18.4% following the death of its
chief financial officer. The company has been
sufferingfrom a prolonged sales slump and executive turnover.
The company that wants to take Trump Media public, Digital
World Acquisition, plunged 11.4% following reports it didn't receive enough
shareholder support for an extension to close the deal.
Rising interest rates
Markets have been slipping in recent weeks as
inflation remains hot and the Federal Reserve
stayson track to continue raising interest rates to try and tame stubbornly
persistent high prices.
"There's a fairly consensus view now that the Fed is
going to be higher for longer and err on the side of inflation reduction over
employment and growth," said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at
Nationwide.
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which
influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, rose to 3.34% from
3.19% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to track
expectations for Fed action, rose to 3.51% from 3.39%.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.52 to $85.36
a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell $1.34 to $91.49 a
barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 143.98 Japanese
yen from 142.76 yen. The euro was little changed at 99 cents.
(Text and
images by AP. AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.)
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