Asian stocks are losing ground as investors wait for earnings, US elections and economic data

TOKYO – Asian shares fell mainly on Thursday as investors grappled with uncertainty ahead of the stock market Presidential elections in the United States November 5.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.5% in early trading to 39,069.20. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3% to 8,153.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 20,433.83, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 3,258.04.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.2% to 2,562.07 after the South Korean government’s announcement North Korea test launch a suspected long-range missile intended to strike the continental United States

Details about the long-range missiles being tested by North Korea are not yet known, but a launch is likely was intended to attract America’s attention before Tuesday’s US elections.

Market observers were also waiting for the Bank of Japan’s decision on monetary policy, although analysts expect that the central bank will not remain indifferent.

Upcoming earnings releases in Asia, as well as around the world, have also added to the mood of anticipation.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index fell 0.3% to 5,813.67 after swinging between small gains and losses several times, although it is still near an all-time high set in early October.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 42,141.54, while the Nasdaq index fell 0.6% to 18,607.93 from his own record set the day before.

Alphabet rose 2.8% after beating analysts’ profit forecasts in the latest quarter, largely driven by Google’s business performance. It is the latest in a group of highly influential companies known as “The Magnificent Seven” meet high growth expectations.

Computer chip companies are some of the biggest winners of the artificial intelligence rush, but Advanced Micro Devices helped drive down stock prices across the industry after it reported a profit for the latest quarter that fell short of analyst expectations.

Nvidia, the chip giant that quickly became one of the biggest and most influential stocks on Wall Street, fell 1.4% and was one of the heaviest holdings on the S&P 500 index.

One of the few stocks that hurt the index almost as much was Eli Lilly, which fell 6.3% amid concerns about two of the drugmaker’s blockbuster products: diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss drug Zepbound.

Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind former Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, also fell. It fell 22.3%, its biggest loss since it took over on the Nasdaq after merging with another company in March. Stocks are highly volatile, and indeed they have been have been increasing significantly over the last monthto $40 from about $12.

On the bond market, yields increased slightly after the latest readings from the US economy. Economic growth has slowed across the economy according to preliminary estimates of the US government in the summer from spring. However, the results were slightly better than economists expected.

Wednesday’s report showed non-government employers accelerated hiring in October when economists predicted a slowdown. This may be cause for optimism ahead of Friday’s more comprehensive jobs report from the U.S. government.

A slowing economy comes as no surprise after the Federal Reserve sharply raised interest rates in hopes of slowing the economy enough to bring inflation under control. The question is whether the Fed can help protect the economy from a recession now that it has started cutting interest rates to keep the labor market strong.

According to data from CME Group, investors largely expect the Fed to cut the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point at its next meeting next week.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.28% from 4.26% late Tuesday and as low as 3.60% in mid-September.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 21 cents to $68.82 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 33 cents to $72.88 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar strengthened to 153.48 Japanese yen from 153.31 yen. The euro was at $1.0853, down from $1.0858.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

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Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama