Stock market today: Asian shares surge as weak US jobs data back hopes for an end to rate hikes

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares advanced on Wednesday after most stocks slipped on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the U.S. economy.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 16,477.34, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% higher, to 2,968.93.

The gains followed selloffs the day before amid worries about the health of China’s economy, the world’s second largest.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 2% to 33,445.90 after a top central bank official reiterated the Bank of Japan's determination to maintain its easy credit policy until it achieves a stable level of inflation.

In Seoul, the Kospi was up less than 0.1%, at 2,495.38. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.7% to 7,178.40.

India's Sensex gained 0.3% and the SET in Bangkok advanced 0.7%.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower for its first back-to-back loss since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.

U.S. stocks and Treasury yields wavered after reports showed that employers advertised far fewer job openings at the end of October than expected, while growth for services businesses accelerated more last month than expected.

That kept alive questions about whether the U.S. economy can pull off a perfect landing where it snuffs out high inflation but avoids a recession.

On Wall Street, KeyCorp fell 3.7% and led a slump for bank stocks after it cut its forecast for income from fees and other non-interest income. But gains of more than 2% for Apple and Nvidia, two of the market’s most influential stocks, helped to blunt the losses.

With inflation down from its peak two summers ago, Wall Street is hopeful the Federal Reserve may finally be done with its market-shaking hikes to interest rates and could soon turn to cutting rates. That could help the economy...