Asian markets mixed after warmer-than-expected US jobs report

HONG KONG (AP) Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday in a busy week with several high-profile U.S. inflation reports due as well as a Federal Reserve policy meeting.

US futures and oil prices fell.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3% to 39,155.16 due to an upward revision in the Japanese index. economic data Monday's decision was welcomed, while the yen's continued weakness boosted exports. Investors await the outcome of the Bank of Japan meeting. The central bank increased its benchmark interest rate in March from 0 to 0.1% against minus 0.1% for the first time in 17 years.

Analysts said markets were moving toward two rate hikes by the end of this year, with wide expectations of further rate hikes as early as July.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.6% to 18,079.93, and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.9% to 3,022.96 after reopening after a public holiday. Markets remained cautious ahead of Wednesday's release of a report on inflation in China.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 1.6% to 7,735.50. South Korea's Kospi was up 0.4% at 2,710.61.

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 5,360.79, surpassing its all-time high set last week. The Nasdaq Composite Index also set a record after rising 0.3% to 17,192.53, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 38,868.04.

Economic data has been mixed recently, and traders are hoping for a slowdown that doesn't lead to a recession and is of ideal magnitude. A slowdown would put less upward pressure on inflation, which could encourage the Federal Reserve to lower its main interest rate from its most severe level in more than two decades.

But the numbers were difficult to analyze, with Friday's jobs report coming in stronger than expected, following weaker-than-expected reports on U.S. manufacturing and other sectors of the economy. Even within U.S. consumer spending, the heart of the economy, there is a stark divide between low-income households struggling to keep pace with persistently high inflation and higher-income households that are doing much better.

Ultimately, the data remains mixed, leaving all major macroeconomic outcomes still on the table for this year, according to Morgan Stanley strategists led by Michael Wilson.

Meanwhile, companies benefiting from the AI ​​boom continue to see strong growth, almost regardless of what the economy and interest rates are doing.

Nvidia, for example, is worth about $3 trillion and rose 0.7% on Monday after reversing an early morning loss. It was the company's first day of trading since a 10-for-one stock split made its stock price more affordable to investors, after it soared to more than $1,000 in amid the AI ​​frenzy.

Treasury yields were mixed in the bond market ahead of reports later in the week that will show whether inflation improved last month, both in consumption and wholesale.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest interest rate decision. Virtually no one then expects it to change its main interest rate. But policymakers will release their latest forecasts on the future path of interest rates and the economy.

The last time Fed officials released such projections, in March, they indicated that the typical member expected about three interest rate cuts in 2024. That forecast will almost certainly be lower this time around. Wall Street traders are largely betting on just one or two rate cuts in 2024, according to CME Group data.

On the bond market, the yield on 10-year Treasury bills rose from 4.43% Friday evening to 4.46%. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks Fed expectations, slipped to 4.88% from 4.89%.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 14 cents to $77.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 19 cents to $81.44 a barrel.

The US dollar fell from 157.04 Japanese yen to 157.25 Japanese yen. The euro rose from $1.0766 to $1.0769.

___

AP Business Editor Stan Choe contributed.