TOKYO — Asian shares were mixed Friday after a sharp helped pull Wall Street off record highs.
In Japan, where investors were watching currency swings, the benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1% in morning trading to 38,719.34.
A weak yen is a boon for some export-reliant manufacturers in Japan. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 150.42 Japanese yen from 149.53 yen. The euro cost $1.0502, little changed from $1.0500.
Japan’s government released the nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food prices, which rose 3.2% in January from the same month last year.
The inflation rate is key in the Bank of Japan’s decision on interest rates, and the rate has remained at or above the central bank’s target of 2% inflation. Last month, the Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 8,300.90, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2% to 2,650.17. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.7% to 23,183.02, boosted by a surge in shares of Alibaba, which reported robust financial results.
, beating analyst expectations as it capitalizes on the artificial intelligence boom in China. Alibaba’s net profit jumped to 48.9 billion yuan, or $6.71 billion, in figures released Thursday.
Alibaba’s New York-traded stock rose 8.1% following the earnings results. Chief Executive Eddie Wu said Alibaba plans to “aggressively invest” in artificial intelligence and cloud computing infrastructure.
The Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 3,369.26.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% for its first drop after setting the . The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 450 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.5%.
Walmart drove the market lower after falling 6.5%, even though the retailer reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based giant gave a forecast for upcoming profit that fell short of analysts’ expectations as shoppers across the country deal with and the from .
Walmart is still forecasting growth in revenue for this upcoming year and said it has experience in navigating the effects of tariffs, but its profit outlook helped pull stocks lower across the retail industry. Costco fell 2.6%, Target dropped 2% and Amazon lost 1.7%.
Burger chain Shake Shack rallied 11.1% after likewise reporting stronger profit than expected. CEO Rob Lynch said sales trends remained solid during the quarter, even though bad weather around the country and wildfires in the Los Angeles area kept some customers away.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 26.63 points to 6,117.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 450.94 to 44,176.65, and the Nasdaq composite sank 93.89 to 19,962.36.
In the bond market, Treasury yields edged lower after a report showed last week than economists expected. It’s an indication the pace of layoffs could be worsening, but the number still remains relatively low compared with history.
Such numbers are likely to keep the Federal Reserve on hold when it comes to interest rates. Last month, the Fed for the first time at a policy meeting since it .
Fed officials how Trump’s proposed tariffs and mass deportations of migrants, as well as strong consumer spending, could push inflation higher this year.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.50% from 4.54% late Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for upcoming Fed moves, held steadier. It remained at 4.27%, where it was late Wednesday.
“Given the high political costs of elevated inflation, we continue to believe that the Trump administration will not want to jeopardize US economic growth or risk higher inflation through broad and sustained tariffs,” said Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer, Americas, at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Trump has already given brief, 30-day reprieves for tariffs he had announced on Mexico and Canada to give time for more negotiations.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 32 cents to $72.57 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 4 cents to $76.44 a barrel.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed.
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