Asian stocks slip on inflation fears
Investors continue to monitor the conflict where Russia could face even stricter economic sanctions which elevated concerns about rising inflation and the impact on global economic growth
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Tokyo: Shares in Asia fell on Tuesday and oil prices advanced after a tech-driven rally on Wall Street. Trading was light with many regional markets including those in China closed for holidays.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1 per cent lower to 27,705.25 and the Kospi in Seoul also fell 0.1 per cent, to 2,755.36. The S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7 per cent to 7,565.80. Malaysia fell while Singapore gained. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has elevated concerns about rising inflation and the impact on global economic growth. Prices for everything from food to clothing were already rising and the war has added to volatility for energy prices.
The World Bank has downgraded its 2022 growth forecast for the Asia-Pacific region to 5 per cent from 5.4 per cent, in part due to disruptions to supplies of commodities, financial strains and higher prices. That follows a rebound to 7.2 per cent growth in 2021 after many economies experienced downturns with the onset of the pandemic. The report forecasts slower growth and rising poverty in the Asia-Pacific region this year as "multiple shocks" compound troubles for people and for businesses.
Oil prices have been hovering around $100 a barrel, a hardship for many countries that depend on imports of oil and gas. U.S. crude climbed $1.20 to $104.48 per barrel early Tuesday in electronic trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Brent was up $1.33 at $108.86 per barrel. The price of U.S. benchmark crude jumped 4 per cent on Monday and Brent crude, the standard for international pricing, rose 3 per cent.
In New York on Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent to 4,582.64, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 to 34,921.88, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.9 per cent to 14,532.55. Smaller company stocks also gained ground. The Russell 200 index picked up 0.2 per cent, to 2,095.44. Twitter surged 27.1 per cent for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the company disclosed that Tesla's Elon Musk had taken a 9.2 per cent stake in the social media platform. In recent weeks Musk has publicly questioned the company's commitment to free speech.
