Stocks fell on Tuesday in Asia and oil prices rose after a tech-driven rally on Wall Street. Trading was light with many regional markets, including those in China, closed for the holidays.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged down 0.1% to 27,705.25 and Seoul’s Kospi also fell 0.1% to 2,755.36. The S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 7,565.80. Malaysia fell while Singapore won.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has heightened concerns about rising inflation and its impact on global economic growth. Prices for everything from food to clothing were already rising, and the war added to volatility in energy prices.
the The World Bank downgraded its 2022 growth forecast for the Asia-Pacific region at 5% from 5.4%, in part due to disruptions in raw material supplies, financial tensions and higher prices. This follows a rebound to 7.2% growth in 2021 after many economies experienced slowdowns with the onset of the pandemic.
The report predicts slower growth and rising poverty in the Asia-Pacific region this year, with “multiple shocks” adding to the turmoil for people and businesses.
Oil prices are hovering around $100 a barrel, a challenge for many countries that depend on oil and gas imports.
U.S. crude rose $1.20 to $104.48 a barrel early Tuesday in electronic trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Brent rose $1.33 to $108.86 a barrel.
The price of U.S. benchmark crude jumped 4% on Monday and Brent crude, the standard for international pricing, rose 3%.
In New York on Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 4,582.64, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 to 34,921.88 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.9% to 14,532.55.
Small company stocks also gained ground. The Russell 200 Index gained 0.2% to 2,095.44.
Twitter jumped 27.1% for the S&P 500’s biggest gain after the company revealed that Tesla’s Elon Musk had taken a 9.2% stake in social media platform. In recent weeks, Musk has publicly questioned the company’s commitment to free speech. The gains were a key factor in lifting the broader communications sector and keeping the S&P 500 in the green even as just under half of the companies in the index fell.
Big tech stocks did the heavy lifting on Monday, offsetting losses elsewhere. These companies have expensive stock values and tend to have more leverage to drive the market up or down. Apple rose 2.4% and Microsoft 1.8%.
Investors continue to watch conflict in Ukrainewhere Russia could face even tougher economic sanctions now that details emerge of what appears to be deliberate killings of civilians.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell joined a growing chorus of international criticism over the alleged atrocities, saying the 27-nation bloc “will urgently move forward to work on new sanctions against Russia”.
The 10-year Treasury yield was 2.40% early Tuesday, close to its Monday close of 2.41%.
Bond yields have climbed all year as Wall Street braces for higher interest rates. The Federal Reserve has already raised its overnight rate once, the first such increase since 2018. The central bank is expected to continue raising rates throughout 2022 to help counter the impact of higher inflation.
The Fed is due to release the minutes of its last meeting on Wednesday.
In currency trading, the US dollar slipped to 122.54 Japanese yen from 122.79 yen. The Euro weakened to $1.0970 from $1.0976.
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