ARTICLE AD BOX
Commercial and residential buildings are illuminated at dawn in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. South Korea has prepared a financial support program of 75.9 trillion won ($56.97 billion) for companies increasing investment in key sectors as well as small businesses struggling with the impact of high interest rates.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to fall Thursday after U.S. stocks dropped overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst day in more than a month.
In Asia, South Korea narrowly avoided a technical recession with its third-quarter GDP growing 0.1% quarter on quarter, following a 0.2% contraction in the second quarter. It, however, missed Reuters estimates of 0.5% growth.
On a year-on-year basis, South Korea's economy grew 1.5%, also slower than the 2% increase expected by economists.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was set to fall, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,970 and their counterpart in Osaka at 37,840 against the index's last close of 38,104.86.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 20,513, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI's close of 20,760.15.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day down 0.30%.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell, with both the Dow and S&P 500 notching their third straight losing session, weighed down by higher Treasury yields.
The S&P 500 lost 0.92%, and the 30-stock Dow plunged 0.96%. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.6%.
— CNBC's Pia Singh and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
Wells Fargo sees near-term challenges for stocks before 2025 rally
The stock market may have already banked its gains for 2024, but that does not mean investors should shift away from equities, according to Wells Fargo.
Darrell Cronk, president of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said in a note to clients that stocks do not have much near-term upside but could rally again next year.
"Our expectation is that equity markets may struggle to advance meaningfully past recent highs in the near term as economic, political, and geopolitical uncertainties persist," the note said.
"We would view periods of near-term weakness in equity markets as potential opportunities given our 2025 outlook, which forecasts a broad-based recovery that supports improved revenue growth and expanding margins," Cronk continued.
Wells Fargo has a target range of 5,300 to 5,500 for the S&P 500 for the end of this year, which is below where the index closed Tuesday.
— Jesse Pound
Oil prices close lower as U.S. stockpiles rise
Oil storage containers in Midland, Texas, US, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.
Anthony Prieto | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Crude oil futures snapped a two-day winning streak to close more than 1% lower on a large build in U.S. stockpiles.
U.S. crude oil fell 97 cents, or 1.35%, to close at $70.77 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent shed $1.08, or 1.42%, to $74.96 per barrel.
Crude stockpiles in the U.S. rose by 5.5 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories increased by 900,000 barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration.
"With prices already moving lower today, this report does little to encourage buying interest," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst in the Americas for Kpler.
— Spencer Kimball
Fed 'Beige Book' indicates 'limited' layoffs, more optimistic outlook
Economic activity over the past seven weeks has been "little changed" as consumers grew more price sensitive and the manufacturing sector retreated, according to the Federal Reserve's periodic economic summary released Wednesday.
The Fed's "Beige Book" report also noted that the dockworkers' strike caused little economic damage, while the violent storm season "heavily affected" the Southeast.
On employment, the document said most of its 12 regions "reported low worker turnover, and layoffs reportedly remained limited."
"Despite elevated uncertainty, contacts were somewhat more optimistic about the longer-term outlook," the report added.
— Jeff Cox
English (US) ·