Stock market today: Asian stocks mixed in muted holiday trading as 2023 draws to a close
abcnews.go.comAsian shares are mixed in muted trading on the last trading day of the year
BANGKOK — Asian shares were mixed in muted trading on Friday, the last trading day of the year, with some regional markets logging solid gains in 2023 while many sagged.
U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gave up 0.6% to 33,358.11. It is up nearly 30% in 2023, its best year in a decade as the Japanese central bank inches toward ending its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.5% at 16,966.77, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.3% to 2,964.68. The Shanghai index has lost about 4% this year and the Hang Seng is down nearly 15%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4% to 7,582.20, having gained 6.2% for the year.
India's Sensex slipped 0.2% to 72,255.72. It has gained more than 18% this year, reaching new highs as investors bought heavily on expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates next year, giving the U.S. and other economies a boost after it managed to bring inflation down from a peak of over 9% in 2022.
Taiwan's Taiex was flat, but it is ending the year up more than 26%, powered by strong gains for semiconductor makers.
On Thursday, Wall Street was mostly quiet ahead of the final trading day of the year, though every major index is on track for weekly gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 4,783.35. It is on track for its ninth straight week of gains and is up more than 24% for the year. The two-month rally has also pushed the benchmark index closer to breaking its all-time high set in January of 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, to 37,710.10.
The Nasdaq composite fell less than 0.1%, to 15,095.14. It has far outpaced the
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