Asian markets inch higher amid economic jitters
HONG KONG — Most Asian markets eked out slight gains Friday as investors failed to get inspiration from U.S. corporate earnings and signs of deflation emerged in Japan.
The back-and-forth trade wrapped up a lackluster week that saw major benchmarks pull back as investors worried the recent rally was overestimating the speed and scale of any recovery in the world economy.
Investors seemed little encouraged by the tepid overnight gains on Wall Street, where stocks inched higher following aluminum maker Alcoa Inc’s narrower-than-expected second quarter loss.
Analysts pointed to low trading volumes as a sign many investors were still awaiting more guidance while others were taking a break for the summer months.
“I think after the massive rally it’s only natural that markets are consolidating now,” said Khiem Do, a Hong Kong-based fund manager who helps oversee more than $8 billion in Asian equities at Baring Asset Management. “I think the surprise is that the correction has not been more severe.”
Markets throughout Asia fluctuated in early trade.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei rose 20.18 points, or 0.2 percent, to 9,311.24 as Japan’s central bank said wholesale prices fell 6.6 percent in June from a year earlier — the biggest fall on record and the latest evidence that deflation is returning to the world’s second-biggest economy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 20.01, or 0.1 percent, to 17,810.60 while Australia’s index gained 0.8 percent and Singapore’s market rose 0.1 percent.
But South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3 percent and Shanghai’s main index shed 0.1 percent.
In New York Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.76, or 0.1 percent, to 8,183.17, the second day of modest gains after a 161-point drop on Tuesday. The blue chips crossed zero 108 times during trading.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.12, or 0.4 percent, to 882.68.
Oil prices were little changed in Asia, with benchmark crude for August delivery down 9 cents at $60.32 a barrel. The contract rose 27 cents Thursday.
The dollar was slightly lower at 92.93 yen compared to 93.02 yen. The euro fell to $1.3979 from $1.4018.
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