Stocks in Japan and Australia fell in early trading Friday following losses on Wall Street, as most Asian markets were closed for holidays.
Japan’s Nikkei JP:NIK slid 2.3% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO tumbled 3.6%, while New Zealand’s NSX-50 NZ:NZ50GR declined 0.5%. Markets in Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia were closed for Labor Day.
In Tokyo, Toyota JP:7203 and Honda JP:7267 fell, as did Sony JP:6758 and Fast Retailing JP:9983 . Commonwealth Bank AU:CBA and Westpac AU:WBC declined in Sydney.
South Korea reported exports fell in April at their steepest rate since the financial crisis in 2009, as coronavirus-related shutdowns continued to weigh on the global economy.
U.S stock futures fell late Thursday after Apple US:AAPL and Amazon US:AMZN posted earnings but warned of uncertainty in the coming quarter amid the COVID-10 pandemic. U.S. stocks ended lower Thursday as investors weighed mixed corporate earnings. Later in the day, President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs against China as retaliation over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average US:DJIA finished 288.14 points, or 1.2%, lower at 24,345.72, while the S&P 500 index US:SPX lost 27.08 points, or 0.9%, to close at 2,912.43. The Nasdaq Composite US:COMP shed 25.16 points, off 0.3%, to end at 8,889.55.
Still, for the month, the Dow gained 11.1%, while the S&P 500 ended up 12.7%, representing their best monthly gains since 1987 and their best April performances since 1938, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Nasdaq booked a monthly return of 15.5%, its best month since 2000 and the best April for the technology-laden index on record.
West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery US:CLM20 , the U.S. benchmark, was up 84 cents, or 4.4%, at $19.68 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude UK:BRNM20 , the international standard, gained 52 cents to $27.00 per barrel.
In currency trading, the dollar US:USDJPY fetched 107.16 Japanese yen, down from 107.13 yen on Thursday.
