Asian shares mostly lower, with most world markets closed for Christmas

Asian shares mostly lower, with most world markets closed for Christmas

Shares slipped in Tokyo and Shanghai on Wednesday, two of only a handful of world markets open on Christmas day.

Oil prices rose.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1 per cent lower to 38,997.02, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2 per cent to 3,387.41.

Thursday will bring a weekly update on US unemployment benefits.

Also early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil was up 93 cents at USD 70.17 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 6 cents to USD 73.23 per barrel.

The USD rose to 157.37 Japanese Yen from 157.11 Yen. The Euro rose to USD 1.0431 from USD 1.0397.

 

On Tuesday, stocks closed higher on Wall Street in a shortened holiday session. Gains in Big Tech stocks helped the S&P 500 to a 1.1 per cent gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 per cent. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3 per cent.

Advancers outnumbered decliners by more than 3-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Broadcom rose 3.2 per cent, Apple gained 1.1 per cent and Amazon closed 1.8 per cent higher. Super Micro Computer climbed 6 per cent.

Tesla jumped 7.4 per cent for the biggest gains among S&P 500 stocks.

American Airlines shook off an early loss and ended with a 0.6 per cent gain after the airline briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical issue.

Elsewhere in the market, US Steel rose 1.9 per cent a day after an influential government panel failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the nearly USD 15 billion proposed sale to Nippon Steel of Japan.

NeueHealth surged 74.9 per cent after the health care company agreed to be taken private in a deal valued at roughly USD 1.3 billion.

Tuesday's US market Santa rally comes as the stock market enters what's historically been a very cheerful season. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3 per cent since 1950.

So far this month, the US stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump's win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits.

Worries have risen that Trump's preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, a bigger US government debt and difficulties for global trade.

Even so, the US market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up 26.6 per cent so far this year and remains within roughly 1 per cent of the all-time high it set earlier this month its latest of 57 record highs this year.