Asian Markets Mixed After Wall Street Records

Hong Kong, May 22 (AP) Asian markets were mixed in cautious trading on Wednesday, with most of the regions' benchmarks climbing after US stocks hit new record highs.

US futures rose while oil prices slipped.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 per cent to 38,719.35 after Japan reported that its trade deficit rose last month as rising costs for imports outpaced an 8 per cent rise in exports from the year before. The data were weaker than analysts had forecast.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.4 per cent to 19,288.93, led by EV makers including Xpeng, whose shares jumped 13.5 per cent on Wednesday on better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter.

The Shanghai Composite index logged slimmer gains, rising less than 0.1 per cent to 3,158.64.

In South Korea, the Kospi edged 0.1 per cent higher to 2,726.35. Australia's S and P/ASX 200 was up less than 0.1 per cent to 7,855.00.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.2 per cent as shares in market heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. jumped 2.1 per cent.

Markets in Thailand were closed for a holiday.

On Tuesday, the S and P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to 5,321.41 and surpassed its record set last week. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.2 per cent to 16,832.62, a day after setting its latest all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2 per cent to 39,872.99 and is sitting just below its high set last week.

Indexes have risen to records recently largely on expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year as inflation cools. More reports showing big US companies earning fatter profits than expected have also boosted the market.

Macy's joined the chorus line of companies delivering a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and its stock jumped 5.1 per cent following some early fluctuations.

Lam Research also helped support the market after the supplier for the semiconductor industry announced a programme to buy back up to USD 10 billion of its own stock. The company said it will undergo a 10-for-one stock split, which would bring down each share's price and make it more affordable to more investors. Its stock rose 2.3 per cent.

That helped offset a 3.7 per cent drop for Palo Alto Networks. The cybersecurity company delivered a better profit report than expected, but it gave a forecasted range for revenue in the current quarter whose midpoint was a hair below analysts' expectations.

Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind Donald Trump's Truth Social network, sank 8.7 per cent after disclosing a net loss of USD 327.6 million in its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company.

Lowe's fell 1.9 per cent despite reporting better results for the latest quarter than analysts had feared. It said it's maintaining its forecast for revenue this year, including a dip of up to 3 per cent for an important underlying sales figure as high interest rates keep a lid on customer activity.

Rates for mortgages, credit cards and other payments have become more expensive because the Federal Reserve has been keeping its main interest rate at the highest level in more than two decades. It's trying to pull off a tightrope walk where it grinds down on the economy just enough through high interest rates to snuff out high inflation but not so much that it causes a painful recession.

This week doesn't have many top-tier economic reports, and the biggest potential for sharp moves in the market will likely come from upcoming profit reports.

The week's headliner is Nvidia, whose stock has rocketed higher amid a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. It will report its latest quarterly results on Wednesday, and expectations are high.

Target also reports later in the day with Ross Stores following Thursday. They could offer more details on how well spending by US households is holding up. Pressure has been rising on them amid still-high inflation, and it seems to be the highest on the lowest-income customers.

In other trading, benchmark US crude fell 61 cents to USD 78.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 64 cents to USD 82.24 a barrel.

The US dollar edged up to 156.30 Japanese yen from 156.16 yen. The euro was nearly unchanged at USD 1.0856.