Asian stock markets mixed after Wall St retreats from record

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street retreated from a record high as major banks reported strong profits.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and India declined. Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney advanced.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index closed 0.4% below the previous day's record due to losses for major tech stocks while smaller companies rallied.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo announced quarterly earnings that beat forecasts. Much of the surge was due to strong trading revenue and expectations for better economic performance, which allowed banks to free up reserves held against the possibility loans might go bad.

The results showed “investment banking and trading are strong and that the party will go on for a couple more quarters,” said Edward Moya of Oanda in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1% to 3,382.40 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 0.8% to 28,666.99.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained less than 0.1% to 29,623.41. The Kospi in Seoul added 0.6% to 3,201.27 while the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.6% at 7,065.10.

India's Sensex opened down 0.6% at 48,227.21. New Zealand and Jakarta declined while Singapore advanced.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 declined to 4,124.66. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 33,730.89. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1% to 13,857.84.

Apple and Amazon declined, but the majority of stocks in the S&P 500 rose.

Smaller companies rallied amid growing optimism as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out and businesses reopen. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks climbed 0.8%.

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