World shares are mixed after a retreat on Wall Street

BANGKOK: World shares were mixed on Tuesday after US stocks gave back some of last week's rally, pressured by rising global bond yields.

The future for the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 per cent.

In Germany, the DAX advanced 0.7 per cent to 23,748.88, while the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.4 per cent to 8,126.11. Britain's FTSE 100 was also up 0.4 per cent, at 9,737.80.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 ended flat at 49,303.45, with financial shares the biggest gainers after the governor of the central bank hinted at a possible hike in interest rates this month.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 0.2 per cent to 26,095.05, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.7 per cent to 3,897.71.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2 per cent to 8,579.70.

The Kospi in South Korea jumped 1.9 per cent to 3,994.93, led by buying of technology shares like Samsung Electronics, which surged 2.6 per cent. Chip maker SK Hynix leapt 3.7 per cent.

Taiwan's benchmark Taiex climbed 0.8 per cent, while the Sensex in India lost 0.6 per cent.

On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5 per cent and broke a five-day winning streak. The Dow industrials dropped 0.9 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.4 per cent.

Last week's rally was largely due to rising hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week to help shore up the slowing job market.

Jobs are under pressure at US manufacturers, and the majority in a survey by the Institute for Supply Management said they're still focused more on managing headcount than on hiring. Several manufacturers also said tariffs are continuing to make things complicated.

“Conditions are more trying than during the coronavirus pandemic in terms of supply chain uncertainty,” one manufacturer told the ISM.

Yields for longer-term Treasurys rose in the bond market, part of a worldwide climb for yields after Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda indicated the central bank may raise its benchmark rate at its meeting later this month.

Japan's benchmark interest rate has remained near zero for years in hopes of reviving sluggish growth. Now inflation is holding above the Bank of Japan's target of about 2 per cent.

“The prospect of the Bank of Japan resuming its hiking cycle a bit sooner than previously thought has sent tremors through global bond and equity markets this week, but we suspect they could nonetheless weather further tightening,” Thomas Mathews of Capital Markets said in a commentary.

When bonds are paying higher yields, they can attract investors who would otherwise buy stocks or cryptocurrencies. Higher yields undercut prices for all kinds of investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive.

Bitcoin, which was soaring around USD 125,000 in October, dropped to USD 85,500. That's down roughly 6 per cent from a day earlier. It was trading around USD 87,500 early Tuesday.

Crypto industry stocks fell, with Coinbase Global down 4.8 per cent and Robinhood Markets losing 4.1 per cent.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Synposys, which rose 4.9 per cent. It said Nvidia is investing USD 2 billion in its stock as part of an expanded partnership. Nvidia, which has become Wall Street's most influential stock, swung from an early loss to a gain of 1.6 per cent.

The markets had a mixed reaction to what seems like a strong start for the holiday shopping season. Consumer spending during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retailing bonanza was expected to exceed expectations, despite uncertainty over the outlook for the US economy.

In other dealings early Tuesday, US benchmark crude oil gave up 6 cents to USD 59.26 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 13 cents to USD 63.04 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 156.05 Japanese yen from 155.48 yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1604 from USD 1.1611.