HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to an all-time high and major technology companies pulled the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lower.
US futures fell. Oil prices retreated from recent highs triggered by heavy shelling between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday.
China’s industrial profits rose 4.1 percent year-on-year in July, with overall profits up 3.6 percent for the first seven months, raising hopes in the market amid sluggish domestic demand, a housing downturn and labor market concerns.
But additional tariffs on China are clouding the country’s manufacturing prospects. Canada announced on Monday a 100 percent tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and a 25 percent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. The measures are set to come into force on October 1. This applies to all electric vehicles imported from China, including many Tesla cars produced in the country.
The automaker’s US-listed shares fell 3.2 percent on Monday.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.3% to 17,842.97 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 2,846.82.
The Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 closed 0.5% higher at 38,288.62. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 8,071.20. The South Korean Kospi fell 0.3% to 2,689.15.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent on Monday, remaining 0.9 percent below its record high reached in July. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9 percent, dragged down by several technology companies that tend to influence the market due to their high values. Nvidia lost 2.2 percent, Microsoft 0.8 percent, Amazon 0.9 percent, Meta Platforms slipped 1.3 percent and Tesla lost 3.2 percent.
The Dow rose 0.2 percent to 41,240 points, surpassing its previous high in mid-July. The average is less influenced by the big technology companies; only Apple and Microsoft are among the most valuable “Magnificent Seven” stocks in the index. This helped limit the impact of the losers among the big technology companies.
Bond yields remained relatively stable, with the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rising to 3.82 percent from 3.80 percent late Friday.
The stock market is coming off a two-week winning streak that helped keep the S&P 500 and Dow Jones within reach of new highs. Monday’s mixed close came at the start of a week marked by another round of corporate earnings and the latest government inflation numbers.
A surprisingly good report showed that orders for durable goods from U.S. factories, including cars, rose 9.9% in July. An update on consumer confidence is due on Tuesday, and on Thursday the U.S. will release a revised estimate of second-quarter economic growth.
Semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia is presenting its latest financial results on Wednesday. The company benefited greatly from the Wall Street mania surrounding artificial intelligence and became one of the largest companies on the stock market with a total value of over $3 trillion. The stock has risen by more than 155 percent over the course of the year.
Shares of other chip manufacturers also fell. Broadcom lost 4.1%, Advanced Micro Devices 3.2% and Lam Research slipped 3.4%.
Overall, the S&P 500 fell 17.77 points to 5,616.84. The Dow rose 65.44 points to 41,240.52 and the Nasdaq lost 152.03 points to close at 17,725.76.
Other companies reporting quarterly results this week include Kohl’s, Chewy, Salesforce and Dollar General.
The most important report for investors this week comes on Friday, when the government releases its latest inflation data, the Personal Consumption and Expenditure (PCE) report for July, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure.
In energy trading, the US benchmark price for crude oil fell 8 cents to $77.34 per barrel. The international standard for Brent crude oil lost 8 cents and was at $80.28 per barrel.
In foreign exchange trading, the US dollar rose from 144.52 yen to 144.81 Japanese yen. The euro cost 1.1164 dollars (up from 1.1161 dollars previously).
Zimo Zhong, The Associated Press
