Stock markets today: Asian stocks mixed ahead of new US data

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A currency trader is seen Monday, April 24th, 2023, at the Foreign Exchange Dealing Room of the KEB Hana Bank Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday, ahead of an economic update expected this week in the United States that will show a slowdown in growth.

Ahn Young-joon/AP

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A currency trader walks past the screens that show the foreign exchange rates in the foreign exchange dealing rooms of the KEB Hana Bank's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on Monday, April 24 2023. Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday, ahead of an economic update expected this week in the United States that will show a slowing growth.

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Currency traders monitor screens near the screens that show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, top left, as well as the foreign exchange rates between the U.S. Dollar and South Korean won in the foreign currency dealing room at the KEB Hana Bank's headquarters in Seoul on Monday, April 24 2023. Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday, ahead of an economic update in the U.S. this week which is expected to show a slowdown in growth.

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BEIJING, China (AP) - Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday as they awaited a U.S. Economic Update this week which is expected to reveal slowed growth.

Tokyo grew, while Shanghai and Hong Kong declined. Oil prices fell.

The benchmark S&P 500 index on Wall Street gained 0.1% Friday, but finished the week with a slight loss.

The U.S. economic data on Thursday is expected to show a slowdown in the first quarter after rate hikes were made aimed at reducing business activity and inflation. This could encourage the Federal Reserve at its meeting in May to delay or scale back further rate increases.

France and Germany reported economic growth on Friday, following surveys showing European factory activity decreasing.

Clifford Bennett, ACY Securities, in a recent report said: "There is no question that the global economic is weakening. It is vulnerable to further sluggishness."

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5% to 3,285.81, while the Nikkei in Tokyo rose 0.3% to 28,646.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 19,953.05

The Kospi in Seoul fell 0.8% to 2,524.08 while the S&P ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.1% at 7,320.90. New Zealand rose, while Singapore fell.

Forecasters anticipate that Thursday's economic data will show a slowdown in U.S. growth to 2% for the first quarter of 2023, down from 2.6% during last year's fourth quarter.

The traders are watching to see if the Fed and the other central banks will be able to rein in the inflation, which was at multi-decades highs, without tipping the world economy into recession. At its meeting in May, the Fed is expected raise its key lending rates one last time before taking a break.

The S&P 500 index rose by 0.1% to 4,133.52 on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 33 808 96. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 12,072.46.

Gains in consumer products and health care companies offset losses in technology, banks and other stocks. Truist Financial, KeyCorp and two other regional banks were among the largest decliners on the S&P 500. Truist Financial fell by 6%, while KeyCorp finished 3.7% lower.

Investors focus on corporate earnings and forecasts.

Wall Street expectations have been beaten by companies. Analysts predicted this would be the biggest drop in S&P500 earnings per share since 2020, when the pandemic ravaged the economy. FactSet polled analysts who expect the S&P 500 to see profits contract by 6.3%.

Coca-Cola will report its results on Monday, followed by McDonald's, Alphabet, and Google's parent company, Alphabet, on Tuesday.

Boeing, the maker of planes, and Meta Platforms (parent company of Facebook) will both report on Wednesday. Investors will get a detailed look at the airline industry's health when American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Amazon report on Thursday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, electronic trading for benchmark U.S. Crude fell 71 cents per barrel to $77.16. On Friday, the contract increased by 50 cents to $77.87. Brent crude, which is the basis for international oil trade, fell 71 cents per barrel to $80.75 in London. The previous session, it gained 56 cents to $81.66.

The dollar rose to 134.44 from Friday's value of 134.21. The euro increased to $1.0980, up from $1.0977.