Asia-Pacific stocks opened mixed on Wednesday after the S&P 500 index rose slightly on recent earnings reports. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and South Korea's KOSPI 200 each saw marginal gains of 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%.
In the US, the S&P 500 posted a slight gain on Tuesday, bringing the index up 8.8% this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a slight gain, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, while the Nasdaq saw a decline of 0.1%.
Earnings showed that Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) fell 9.5% on a quarterly loss and disappointing earnings outlook. Energy drink company Celc Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CELH) fell 1.8% after first-quarter revenue missed analysts' expectations. Data analytics company Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) fell a whopping 15% despite reporting higher-than-expected revenue as its U.S. trading business slowed. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also fell 2.9%.
A recent jobs report showed hiring activity fell sharply last month, helping to quell concerns about an overheating economy. This has diminished hopes of a rate cut in 2024. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said the central bank could maintain current interest rates for a long time. In the commodity market, Brent crude fell 0.2% to $83.16 a barrel, while gold fell 0.4% to $2,314.10.
Chinese stocks rose broadly as the market digested cues from a recent Politburo meeting that emphasized the importance of capital markets. Hong Kong shares, however, fell on profit-taking after a long rally. Japanese stocks rose, led by brokerages and electronics stocks, on growing expectations of a Fed rate cut and strong domestic earnings.
Indian shares closed lower, dragged down by steel and banking stocks. UK stocks rose on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 Index adding 1.2%. European shares ended Tuesday on a positive note, with the Stoxx Europe 600, CAC 40 and DAX 40 all hitting record highs.
Source: Investing
