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Asian Markets Flat as Futures Suggest Mixed Day on Wall Street Stocks Bounce Back From Edge of Bear Market
(35 minutes later)
HONG KONG — Jittery investors in Asia looked on Wednesday for any sign of an end to turmoil on Wall Street, where the market is poised for its worst December since the Great Depression. But the Christmas break in the United States gave them little to work with, and most Asian markets finished the day flat or down slightly. Stocks rose on Wednesday, bolstered by strong data on holiday season retail sales even as the S&P 500 continued to hover near bear-market territory and remained on track to post its worst annual performance since the financial crisis a decade ago.
Futures markets suggested Wall Street would be in for a mixed day as it resumed trading after the holiday, despite President Trump’s assertion that the stock market rout — which is nearing bear market territory — presented a “tremendous opportunity to buy.” The gains came as White House officials continued to try to calm a run of market volatility, insisting once again that President Trump had no plans to fire Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, despite continuing to criticize the central bank’s policies. Mr. Trump, who had previously sought to hitch his political success to a rising stock market, has blamed the Fed’s interest rate increases for the downturn on Wall Street.
Traders may be more focused on the steady outflow of government officials from Mr. Trump’s administration and concerns that he may fire Steven Mnuchin, even as he expressed confidence in the treasury secretary on Tuesday. [Read more about how Mr. Trump has become fixated on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, and has asked aides whether he has the power to fire him.]
Many European markets were closed for the holidays. Kevin Hassett, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters Wednesday morning that Mr. Powell’s job was “100 percent” safe. His comments came after similar remarks by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Mick Mulvaney, Mr. Trump’s incoming chief of staff, both of whom spent the weekend trying to persuade investors that the president did not plan to fire Mr. Powell. Those efforts mostly backfired, in part because Mr. Trump continued to criticize his handpicked Fed chairman.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.9 percent, but other major Asian markets were down slightly. Worries about the White House’s response to the meltdown in the financial markets have dovetailed with other concerns — including weakness in global trade and the economic impact of a potentially lengthy government shutdown — to feed the volatility on Wall Street.
In China, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.3 percent, and the Shenzhen Composite fell 0.4 percent. ■ Trading was volatile, and stocks swung between modest gains and small losses. Before trading started on Wednesday, the S&P 500 had fallen 19.7 percent from its peak on Sept. 20. A bear market is defined as a drop of at least 20 percent.
The Kospi index in South Korea fell 1.3 percent, and the Taiex in Taiwan fell 0.5 percent. ■ Retail stocks led the gains after data from Mastercard showed that retail sales in the United States this holiday season were 5.1 higher than last year while experiencing their most robust growth in six years.
Kohl’s was the best performing stock in the S&P 500, climbing more than 4.5 percent. Shares in Amazon, which described the holiday season as “record breaking” without offering details, also rose more than 4 percent.
■ Trading was mixed in Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.9 percent, but the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.3 percent, and the Shenzhen Composite fell 0.4 percent. The Kospi index in South Korea fell 1.3 percent, and the Taiex in Taiwan fell 0.5 percent.
■ Many European markets were closed for the holidays.