BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks started the week mixed in Asia after U.S. stocks suffered their worst loss since Election Day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1% to 38,255.65 as the yen regained some strength against the US dollar after central bank Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated the Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates as per conditions allow.
The dollar fell to 154.46 Japanese yen from 154.54 yen late Friday. Last week it was trading above 156 yen.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 2% to 2,465.60 after Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest company, announced a share buyback plan. Samsung shares rose 6%.
Chinese markets advanced, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adding 1.2% to 19,655.58. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2% to 3,372.18. Recent data showed improvements in retail spending that economists say suggest the government’s stimulus policies are giving the stagnating economy a boost.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 8,295.40. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.8% and Bangkok’s SET rose 0.6%.
U.S. stocks plunged on Friday as the “Trump boost” Wall Street received from last week’s presidential election faded, along with an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 fell 1.3% to 5,870.62, its worst day since before Election Day to close a losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 43,444.99 and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.2% to 18,680.12.
Vaccine makers helped drag the market lower after President-elect Donald Trump said he wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine activist, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Moderna fell 7.3% and Pfizer fell 4.7% amid concerns about a possible hit to their profits.
Kennedy still needs Senate confirmation to get the job, and some analysts are skeptical about his chances.
Biotech stocks sank overall and suffered some of the worst losses in the market, but the steepest drop in the S&P 500 came from Applied Materials. It fell 9.2% as it forecast a range of future revenue below analyst expectations, even though it reported a higher-than-expected profit for the latest quarter.
Companies face pressure to achieve big growth, as their stock prices have risen much faster than their profits. That has made the stock market look expensive by a number of measures. The S&P 500 is still up 23% so far this year and is not far from its all-time high set on Monday, despite last week’s weakness.
Stocks had been rising since Election Day, when Trump’s victory shook financial markets around the world. Investors immediately began rallying stocks of banks, smaller U.S. companies and cryptocurrencies as they placed bets on the winners resulting from Trump’s preference for higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation.