BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — In Asia on Friday, stocks were mainly lower after Wall Street indexes extended losses over concerns about mounting coronavirus cases and the threats to pandemic recovery. Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai stocks all sank, but Hong Kong climbed. Futures in the United States and oil prices were largely unchanged.
The Bank of Japan held its policy settings unchanged on Friday, but lowered its growth prediction for the current fiscal year from 3.5 percent -4.4 percent to 3.5 percent -4%. The outlook for the world’s third largest economy is “very uncertain,” according to the report, and is dependent on how the COVID-19 issue plays out. On Thursday, Tokyo recorded a 6-month high of 1,308 new cases, little over a week before the Olympic Games, which will begin a year later than scheduled owing to the pandemic. Many in Japan are concerned that the Olympics may increase the possibility of new breakouts at a time when the delta strain of COVID-19 is triggering flare-ups around the world. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index NIK, -0.80 percent fell 0.6 percent to 28,106.40, while Seoul’s Kospi 180721, -0.32 percent fell 0.3 percent to 3,275.64. The Shanghai Composite index SHCOMP, -0.41 percent fell 0.1 percent to 3,558.25 points. The Hang Seng HSI (+0.57%) in Hong Kong increased 0.4 percent to 28,130.27. The S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.06 percent, was unchanged at 7,336.20 in Australia. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.314 percent, increased to 1.317 percent late Thursday from 1.30 percent. The main U.S. stock indexes mostly closed down on Thursday, retreating from the record highs hit at the start of the week. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.33 percent dropped 0.3 percent to 4,360.03. The benchmark index is on track to lose ground for the first time in four weeks this week. The Nasdaq COMP, -0.70 percent, a tech-heavy index, fell 0.7 percent to 14,543.13. After being down for much of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.15% bucked the trend and rebounded back. The blue-chip index increased by 0.2 percent to 34,987.02 points. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks RUT, -0.55 percent fell 0.6 percent to 2,190.29. Much of the retreat was accounted for by technology and communications sectors, as well as industries that rely on consumer spending, outweighing advances elsewhere in the market. Following a broad drop in energy prices, energy stocks slumped. Financial equities, notably banks, were among the gains, as they have been posting mainly excellent earnings. Investors are keeping a close eye on the economy as the pandemic fades, as well as what businesses have to say about how greater inflation is affecting their operations. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified in front of Congress for the second day on Thursday. As the United States recovers from an unprecedented economic recovery following the pandemic-induced recession, he underlined that signals of inflation should reduce or reverse over time. The government announced on Wednesday that wholesale inflation increased by 1% in June, bringing the 12-month price increase to a new high of 7.3 percent. That came after a study the day before that showed consumer prices had risen for the first time in 13 years over the previous 12 months. The labor market is continuing to improve, according to new data on unemployment benefits applications. Unemployment claims fell by 26,000 last week to 360,000, the lowest number since the pandemic hit last year, according to the Labor Department. On Thursday, a number of corporations published their most recent quarterly earnings. Progressive’s stock dropped 2.6 percent after the insurance company’s earnings missed analysts’ expectations. Morgan Stanley MS, +0.18 percent gained 0.2 percent after posting a 10% increase in quarterly profits over the previous year. The stock of American International Group AIG, +3.58 percent, or AIG, climbed 3.6 percent after the insurance giant announced an agreement with Blackstone Group to help manage some of its life insurance assets. When earnings season kicks up next week, several corporations will start reporting. In other trade on Friday, New York Mercantile Exchange benchmark crude oil CL.1, -0.27 percent fell 24 cents to $71.41 per barrel in electronic trading. On Thursday, it fell $1.48 to $71.65 per barrel. Brent crude BRN00, -0.27%, the worldwide pricing benchmark, was unchanged at $73.48 per barrel. The dollar increased 0.12% to 109.99 Japanese yen USDJPY, up from 109.85 yen. The euro EURUSD, -0.04% dropped to $1.1812 from $1.1813./n
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