Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Asian stock markets higher after Wall St sinks further

Asian stock markets are higher after Wall Street sank on weak U.S. housing sales and a profit warning by a prominent social media brand

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 25 May 2022 06:54 BST

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Asian stock markets gained Wednesday after Wall Street sank on weak U.S. housing sales and a profit warning by a prominent social media brand.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced while Tokyo declined. Oil prices rose more than $1 per barrel to stay above $110.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.8% after the profit warning Tuesday by Snapchat’s parent company. Spooked investors dumped social media stocks. Construction stocks fell after U.S. home sales plunged in April.

“The overall mood in equity markets remains largely downbeat,” Jun Rong Yeap of IG said in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8% to 3,094.88 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed less than 0.1% to 26,729.70. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.5% to 20,216.79.

The Kospi in Seoul rose 0.8% to 2,626.90 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 0.7% to 7,177.80.

India's Sensex opened up less than 0.1% at 54,099.64. New Zealand, Singapore and Jakarta declined while Bangkok advanced.

Investors are on edge about the impact of interest rate hikes in the United States and other Western economies to cool surging inflation, as well as Russia's war on Ukraine and a Chinese economic slowdown.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is due to give insight into its decision-making by releasing minutes of its latest policy meeting.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 on Tuesday fell to 3,941.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 31,928.62.

The S&P is down 18% from its Jan. 3 high, putting it on the brink of a bear market, or a 20% decline from the previous top.

The Nasdaq composite, dominated by tech stocks, slide 2.3% to 11,264.45 after the social media selloff. Snap plummeted 43.1%, its biggest single-day drop ever. Facebook parent Meta slumped 7.6%. Google’s parent fell 5.1%.

Retailers and companies that rely on direct consumer spending declined. Amazon slid 3.2% and Target fell 2.6%.

The pullback undercut the previous day's broad rally.

Homebuilders slumped following a government report showing that April sales of newly built homes plunged 26.9% from a year earlier. KB Home fell 2.7%.

Cruise lines and other travel-related companies took heavy losses. Carnival slid 10.3% and Norwegian Cruise Line fell 12%.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.35 to $111.12 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 52 cents on Tuesday to $109.77. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, advanced $1.32 to $112.01 per barrel in London. It rose 14 cents the previous session to $113.56.

The dollar gained to 126.99 yen from Tuesday's 126.82 yen. The euro rose to $1.0709 from $1.0693.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in