TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed in cautious trading Monday ahead of the Labor Day holiday within the U.S., when stock exchanges will likely be closed.
Investors were also waiting for the U.S. employment report set for release Friday for a sign of the strength of the American economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% in morning trading to 38,797.61, after the Finance Ministry reported capital spending by Japanese firms within the April-June quarter increased 7.4% from the previous yr.
After a period of stagnation, Japan’s economy is showing signs of a recovery. Next week, Japan will release revised gross domestic product, or GDP, data, a measure of the worth of a nation’s goods and services. The preliminary data released earlier showed the primary growth in two quarters.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.3% to eight,067.00, while South Korea’s Kospi gained nearly 0.1% to 2,676.28. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.3% to 17,752.09. The Shanghai Composite dipped 0.5% to 2,828.84.
A little bit of pessimism rolled in over China’s growth prospects over the weekend, as its National Bureau of Statistics reported that August manufacturing PMI, a barometer of business output, fell from 49.4 to 49.1. That was weaker than market forecasts.
Wall Street finished last week broadly higher. The S&P 500 rose 1% through the week, with about 76% of the stocks within the index notching gains. The benchmark S&P 500 closed August with a 2.3% gain for the month. It’s now up 18.4% up to now this yr and is inside 0.4% of the all-time high it set in July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% on Friday, setting its fourth all-time high this week. The Nasdaq composite ended 1.1% higher.
Recent reports on the U.S. economy, including inflation, consumer spending and income, have been encouraging. The Commerce Department said its personal consumption and expenditures report showed prices rose 0.2% from June to July, up barely from the previous month’s 0.1% increase.
Meaning price rises are slowing down, and that’s more likely to result in the Federal Reserve cutting rates of interest for the primary time in greater than 4 years. The market expects the Fed will start cutting rates later this month.
In other encouraging news, Friday’s Commerce Department report showed Americans stepped up their spending by 0.5% from June to July and incomes rose 0.3%, faster in July than the previous month.
Bond yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to three.92% from 3.86% late Thursday.
The S&P 500 rose 56.44 points to five,648.40. The Dow rose 228.03 points to shut at 41,563.08. The Nasdaq gained 197.19 points to 17,713.62.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 47 cents to $73.08 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 50 cents to $76.43 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched right down to 146.16 Japanese yen from 146.18 yen. The euro cost $1.1055, up from $1.1053.
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Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama