Asian shares were mostly higher after modest gains on Wall St

BANGKOK (AP) — Wall Street benchmarks were mostly higher in Asia on Tuesday after paring some losses from their worst week since early December.

Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Shanghai advanced while Hong Kong and Mumbai declined.

Analysts are under pressure to sell shares raised forecast How high the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates and how long it will keep them there to control inflation, which has failed to ease as expected given strong job growth and other signs of resilience in the economy.

Economies around the world are more resilient than feared China is relaxing Anti-Covid restrictions harm its business and Europe is avoiding the worst Energy crisis.

“As we head into ‘Turnaround Tuesday,’ investors are disputing that January’s inflation was another temporary bump in the reflation road as the economy adjusts to a post-pandemic world,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report. “The post-pandemic era continues to yield unusual macroeconomic patterns.”

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.1% to 27,445.56 and Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,412.85.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 19,836.12 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 3,279.61. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 7,258.40.

Shares in Mumbai fell 0.3% while Bangkok’s SET index fell 0.2%.

Stocks struggled in February after a strong start to the year. Strong economic data helps calm fears that a recession More expensive borrowing may be forthcoming due to the dampening effect on spending by consumers and businesses.

But they probably mean a longer spell of higher interest rates. Higher expectations for rates have been most evident in the bond market, where yields have risen higher in recent weeks.

Earlier, analysts had thought the Fed might return soon. It is now expected to raise rates above 5.25%. The Fed’s key overnight rate is now between 4.50% and 4.75%, up from virtually zero at the start of last year.

The story continues

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 3,982.24 for just the second gain in seven days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 32,889.09, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6% to 11,466.98.

share of Union Pacific The railroad jumped 10.1% for the market’s biggest gainer after announcing plans to replace its CEO later this year. The company is under pressure from a hedge fund that has a large ownership stake

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 3.92% from 3.95% late Friday. This yield helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans. The two-year yield, which runs more on expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.79% from 4.81%. This is near the highest level since 2007.

A report showed that yields fell after orders for machinery, aircraft and other durable goods fell more than economists expected in January.

Even Monday’s weaker-than-expected report on durable goods had some underlying strength. After ignoring transportation-related equipment, orders jumped last month to their biggest gain since March, a much stronger drop than economists had expected.

Even amid concerns about higher-than-expected rates, the S&P 500 has held on to a 3.7% gain for the year so far and shoppers are still spending at stores. Both could add upward pressure on inflation.

Most companies have already reported their results for the last three months of 2022 Among the dozens of companies still scheduled to report this week in the S&P 500 are Advance Auto Parts, Kroger and Target.

Overall, this earnings reporting season was lackluster. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report their first drop in earnings per share since the summer of 2020 since a year ago, according to FactSet.

In other trading Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 48 cents to $76.16 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 64 cents to $75.68 on Monday.

Brent crude, the benchmark for international trade, rose 48 cents to $82.52 a barrel.

The US dollar rose to 136.39 Japanese yen from 136.20 yen. The euro fell to $1.0587 from $1.0609.