Stock market today: Asian markets churn upward after the Dow ticks to another record high
Asian shares have churned higher after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to another record high
BANGKOK — Asian shares powered higher on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to another record on excitement that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates several times next year.
U.S. futures and oil prices also advanced.
Hong Kong led Asia’s gains with property developers jumping after some Chinese cities eased buying restrictions.
The Hang Seng surged 2.2% to 16,764.62, but the Shanghai Composite index fell back, losing 0.5% to 2,942.56.
Troubled developer Country Garden's shares jumped 5.1%, while China Evergrande gained 2.2% and Sino Ocean Holding surged 6.8%.
China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that factory output rose 6.6% in November and retail sales were up more than 10%, glimmers of improvement for the economy after the post-COVID recovery faded much more quickly than expected.
However, investments in property weakened further, indicating that the crisis over excessive debt in that industry is far from resolved.
“Our cautious conclusion from all of this is that China’s recovery is ongoing. But it still looks narrowly based and vulnerable to any further worsening in the real estate sector,” ING Economics said in a research note.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.9% to 32,970.55 and the Kospi in Seoul added 0.8% to 2,563.56. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 7,442.70.
Bangkok's SET climbed 1% and the Sensex in India was up 0.7%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to pull within 1.6% of its all-time high set early last year. It closed at 4,719.55. The Dow gained 0.4% to 37,248.35, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.2% to 14,761.56.
Moderna jumped 9.2% after reporting
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