Asian Shares Slip as Wall Street’s Record Rally Faces Earnings Test
Regional indexes declined after Wall Street hit records, as investors weighed strong profit expectations against higher oil prices and inflation concerns.
Key takeaways
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi each fell 0.9%.
- The S&P 500 closed at a record as investors anticipated strong corporate earnings.
- FactSet data showed analysts expect nearly 30% earnings-per-share growth for S&P 500 companies.
Asian markets mostly retreated Wednesday after U.S. stocks reached record highs the previous day, supported by expectations for strong corporate earnings. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi each fell 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6%.
Taiwan’s Taiex edged down 0.2%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%. Shanghai markets were closed for a national holiday.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to a record close of 7,818.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record. FactSet data showed analysts expect S&P 500 companies’ earnings per share to grow nearly 30% from a year earlier for the July-to-September quarter.
Lamb Weston’s latest quarterly profit and revenue topped its projections and analysts’ expectations, and its shares rose 7.5% Tuesday. Nvidia, a major force in the rally, has gained 28.3% so far this year, according to the article.
Oil prices rose early Wednesday, with Brent crude up 0.9% to $101.49 a barrel. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury had eased to 5.28% on Tuesday from 5.31% late Monday.
This article was produced with the help of AI technology. Source: Yahoo Finance
