Stock market today: Asian shares are mostly lower, with markets in Japan and US closed

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Thursday after a modest advance on Wall Street that kept the market on track for a fourth straight weekly gain.

Markets in Japan and the U.S. are closed Thursday for holidays.

Oil prices fell about $1 a barrel after OPEC postponed until next week a meeting to discuss production cuts. The oil cartel has been maintaining a tight market for crude oil with production cuts. It is expected to extend those cuts after oil prices have fallen after a spike in the summer to almost $100 a barrel.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.4% to 17,668.99 and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% higher, to 3,048.82. Markets in Greater China have been swaying in reaction to moves by Chinese regulators to prop up the ailing property market.

Shares in troubled developer Country Garden jumped 13% amid reports that it is included on a list of real estate companies eligible for financing support. Sino-Ocean Group Holding’s shares soared 18%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.6% to 7,030.70. In South Korea, the Kospi slipped 2 points lower, to 2,509.73.

Bangkok’s SET lost 0.4% and the Taiex in Taiwan was down 0.2%. The Sensex in Mumbai opened up 0.1%.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 4,556.62. The Dow rose 0.5% to 35,273.03 and the Nasdaq gained 0.5% to 14,265.86.

Trading was muted ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. U.S. markets will be open for half a day on Friday.

Technology and communications services stocks accounted for a big share of the gains for the S&P 500. Microsoft rose 1.3% and Google parent Alphabet added 1.1%.

Broadcom slipped 0.9% after announcing that it expects to complete its $69 billion deal to acquire VMWare on Wednesday after clearing all regulatory hurdles.

A 0.9% drop in oil prices weighed on energy companies. Energy giant Exxon Mobil fell 0.4% and oilfield services company Halliburton dropped 0.8%.

But it lifted airlines and other companies that stand to benefit from lower fuel costs. United Airlines rose 0.9% and American Airlines gained 1.5%. Cruise line operator Carnival rose 1.9%.

Nvidia fell 2.5%, despite handily beating analysts’ profit and revenue forecasts. Export restrictions to China are pressuring the company, though its stock has more than tripled this year amid booming demand for its chips in artificial intelligence applications.

Earnings reports continue to drift in. Department store operator Nordstrom fell 4.6% after trimming its profit forecast for the year. Clothing retailer Guess slumped 12.3% after cutting its financial forecast.

Tractor maker Deere, a bellwether for the agricultural industry, fell 3.1% after giving Wall Street a discouraging financial forecast and industry outlook.

Treasury yields were relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.41% from 4.40% late Tuesday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury slipped to 4.88% from 4.89% late Tuesday.

A consumer sentiment survey by the University of Michigan showed that confidence remains strong. Wall Street has been closely watching consumer spending and confidence reports for more clues on the economy’s path ahead.

Forecasts for a potential recession have been pushed further out into 2024 while also being softened. The rate of inflation continues to ease, consumer spending remains solid and the economy is generally humming along. That has encouraged hopes, and bets, that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates and could soon consider cutting rates.

Fed officials, though, have said the outlook for the economy remains uncertain and they’ll make upcoming decisions on rates based on incoming reports. The Fed will get another big update next week when the government releases its October report for a key inflation measure tracked by the central bank.

In other trading Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 91 cents to $76.19 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped 67 cents to $77.10 per barrel on Wednesday.

Brent crude, the international pricing standard, gave up $1.06 to $80.90 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar slipped to 149.12 Japanese yen from 149.56 yen. The euro rose to $1.0905 from $1.0889.

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AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.