Bangkok, Nov 3 (AP) Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Monday after gains for Amazon carried the US stock market to the finish of another winning week and month.
US futures and oil prices also were higher, while Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 2.6 per cent at 4,212.20. Shares in Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, jumped 3.4 per cent.
Chinese markets were more subdued, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gaining 0.4 per cent to 26,017.76.
A private sector measure of factory activity, the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI, showed an overall slowing, to 50.6 in October from 51.2 in September. That’s on a scale from zero to 100 where 50 marks a level of expansion.
The official PMI reading by the National Bureau of Statistics likewise showed factory activity slowing, to 49 last month from 49.8 in September.
The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1 per cent higher, to 3,958.21.
Taiwan’s benchmark also was up 0.1 per cent.
There was no immediate or obvious reaction to US President Donald Trump’s assertion that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had promised not to take any action against the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, while Trump is in office.
The long-contentious issue of Taiwan did not come up in Trump’s talks with Xi on Thursday in South Korea that largely focused on US-China trade tensions, Trump said. But in an interview with 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday, US time, the American leader expressed certainty that China would not take action on Taiwan while he’s in office.
The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 per cent early Monday, while that for the S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent.
On Friday, Amazon led the US stock market higher, gaining 9.6 per cent after it reported a much bigger profit than analysts had expected.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent and pulled closer to its all-time high set on Tuesday. It closed at 6,840.20, finishing a third straight winning week and a sixth straight winning month, its longest monthly winning streak since 2021.
The Dow industrials added 0.1 per cent to 47,562.87. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.6 per cent to 23,724.96.
Amazon’s massive size of roughly USD 2.4 trillion means its stock movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 than almost any other company’s. Without it, the S&P 500 would have been down for the day.
Another highly influential stock, Apple, delivered a better profit report than forecast. But it had less of an effect on the market and finished with a dip of 0.4 per cent. Its CEO Tim Cook said it benefited from strong revenue for both its iPhone lineup and its services offerings, which include its app store.
Companies face pressure to deliver big growth in profits to justify the huge gains their stock prices have made since April and counter worries that the US stock market has become too expensive.
A day earlier, the S&P 500 slumped 1 per cent as investors appeared unnerved by big increases in spending that Meta Platforms and Microsoft are planning as part of the investment spree underway in artificial-intelligence technology.
Financial markets also appeared skeptical that President Donald Trump’s trade truce with China would put an end to tensions between the two countries.
In other dealings early Monday, US benchmark crude oil picked up 23 cents to USD 61.21 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 26 cents to USD 65.03 per barrel.
The US dollar rose to 154.06 Japanese Yen from 153.48 Yen. The Euro slipped to USD 1.1532 from USD 1.1537. (AP) NPK NPK
Category: Breaking News
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