World markets mostly lower after Wall Street snaps its recent rally
Business
World markets mostly lower after Wall Street snaps its recent rally
BEIJING (AP) — World shares were mostly lower on Monday after Wall Street’s huge rally faltered last week.
Germany’s DAX gave up 0.8% to 17,675.49 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.4% to 7,999.07. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower.
The futures for the S&P 500 and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.
In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 2.2% to 38,820.49. The government issued revised figures showing the economy grew 0.1% in the last quarter of the year, better than the minus 0.1% reported earlier but lower than forecasts.
That means the economy is not in a technical recession, though it’s expanding at a snail’s pace.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4% to 16,587.57 and the Shanghai Composite jumped 0.7% to 3,068.46.
China’s National People’s Congress concluded with a near unanimous show of support for the decisions set by top leaders of the ruling Communist Party.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.8% to 2,659.53 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gave up 1.8% to 7,704.20.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.7% from its all-time high set a day before. The Dow dropped 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.2%.
Shares initially climbed after mixed data on the U.S. job market bolstered hopes that easier interest rates will arrive later this year. Later, it swung to a loss after one of the most influential stocks, Nvidia, took a rare stumble following a jaw-dropping surge that critics said was overdone.
Friday’s dip also sent the S&P 500 to a rare losing week, just its third in the last 19.
The jobs report showed employers hired more workers last month than expected, but wages for workers rose by less than forecast. It also said job growth in January was not nearly as hot as earlier thought.
The hope on Wall Street is that the remarkably resilient economy will continue to drive growth in profits for companies.
On Friday, gun maker Smith & Wesson Brands leaped 29.4% after reporting stronger profit than expected for the latest quarter. It said its shipments grew faster than the overall firearms market.
But Nvidia was the main stock in the spotlight as it tumbled 5.5% for its worst day since May. That was a rare blip for the stock that has shot up nearly 77% this year after more than tripling last year.
Because Nvidia has swelled into the third-largest U.S. stock, it carries much more weight on the S&P 500 than nearly every other.
In other trading early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 16 cents to $77.85 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 92 cents to $78.01 a barrel on Friday.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, declined 8 cents to $82.00 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 146.65 Japanese yen from 147.07 yen. The euro rose to $1.0944 from $1.0941.
