Asian shares were mixed Tuesday

Asian shares were mixed Tuesday after a Wall Street rally that reflected some optimism about the economy recovering from the pandemic.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 NIK, -1.13% lost early gains and fell 1% in morning trading. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, 0.17% was flat while the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -0.17% slipped 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, 0.96% rose 1.1%. Stocks slipped in Singapore STI, -0.34%, but advanced in Taiwan Y9999, 0.96% and Indonesia JAKIDX, +0.44%. Hong Kong trading was closed for a holiday.

Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko, noted a gradual recovery in the Japanese economy had been reflected in the recent “tankan” Bank of Japan survey, which was released last week. He said a rebound was marked in electronics because of households consuming electronics goods, as the pandemic had squelched people’s spending on services.

However, household spending data released Tuesday showed a 6.6% decline in February, with dining, clothing, transport and entertainment falling sharply.

Deep worries remain over the pandemic, with medical experts warning Japan to brace for a “fourth wave” of surging infections and deaths related to COVID-19, as the nation has fallen behind the rest of the world in testing and vaccinations.

Similar outbreaks have flared in other countries, including India and Thailand.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 SPX, +1.44% rose 1.4% to 4,077.91, another record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.13% rose 379 points, or 1.2%, to 33,527.19 and the Nasdaq COMP, +1.67% was 1.6% higher, at 13,705.59.

The gains came after the U.S. government reported that employers went on a hiring spree in March, adding 916,000 jobs, the most since August.

Traders had a delayed reaction to the encouraging jobs report, which was released on Friday when stock trading was closed. Investors were further encouraged by a report Monday showing that the services sector recorded record growth in March as orders, hiring and prices surged.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude CLK21, 0.70% added 69 cents to $59.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up $2.80 to $58.65 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude BRNM21, 0.56%, the international standard, rose 56 cents to $62.71 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar USDJPY, 0.04% rose to 110.24 Japanese yen from 110.19 yen.

source:marketwatch.com