Bangkok, May 20:Shares were mixed in Asia on Thursday after benchmarks closed broadly lower on Wall Street in a third day of retreat.
The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies declined further. Stocks rose in Tokyo and Sydney but fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Japan’s government reported that exports rose 38 per cent in April from a year earlier while imports climbed nearly 13 per cent, indicating a recovery in overseas demand even as the country weathers its worst bout of coronavirus outbreaks so far.
Exports to the US rose 45 per cent while those to China jumped nearly 34 per cent in a strong rebound after last year’s shocks from lockdowns and other precautions taken to curb the pandemic.
The Nikkei 225 regained lost ground, edging 0.2 per cent higher to 28,067.53, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 0.9 per cent to 6,993.90.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng skidded 0.7 per cent to 28,381.13 while Seoul’s Kospi declined 0.5 per cent to 3,157.70. Shares rose in Singapore and Jakarta but fell in Taiwan.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 index dropped 0.3 per cent to 4,115.68 after recovering from a 1.6 per cent slide earlier in the day. The benchmark index is on track for its second weekly loss in a row.
Bank stocks were among the biggest decliners. Goldman Sachs fell 1.7 per cent and Wells Fargo lost 1.5 per cent. Retailers and other companies that rely directly on consumer spending also pulled the market lower. Home Depot slid 0.7 per cent, Gap fell 3 per cent and L Brands dropped 3.1 per cent.
Energy sector stocks, the biggest gainers so far this year, bore the heaviest losses as the price of US crude oil skidded 3.5 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent to 33,896.04. The Nasdaq fared better than the rest of the market, shedding less than 0.1 per cent, to 13,299.74.
Smaller company stocks also lost ground. The Russell 2000 index lost 0.8 per cent, to 2,193.64. (AGENCIES)
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