{"id":9455,"date":"2021-05-05T08:38:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T08:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/05\/05\/asian-shares-mixed-after-yellens-comments\/"},"modified":"2021-05-05T08:38:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T08:38:58","slug":"asian-shares-mixed-after-yellens-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/05\/05\/asian-shares-mixed-after-yellens-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Shares Mixed After Yellen’s Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Asian stocks ended mixed in thin trading on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen noted that interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure that the economy<\/span> doesn’t overheat. Yellen later clarified the comments and said she was neither predicting nor recommending a rate increase.<\/p>\n

Japanese markets<\/span> were closed for a third straight day for Children’s Day. China was also closed for Labor Day, while South Korea was closed for Children’s Day.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 139.16 points, or 0.5 percent, to 28,417.98. Hong Kong’s private sector continued to expand in April, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed, with a services PMI score of 50.3, down from 50.5 in March.<\/p>\n

Australian stocks rose for the third straight session, with rising commodity prices and dovish comments from RBA’s interest rate decision boosting sentiment.<\/p>\n

The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 Index ended up 27.90 points, or 0.4 percent, at 7,095.80 after touching a new 14-month high of 7,122.00 earlier in the day. The broader All Ordinaries Index rose 20.70 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,344.20.<\/p>\n

Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto rose over 1 percent. Gold miners ended broadly lower. Tech stocks also succumbed to selling pressure, with Appen, Afterpay and WiseTech Global losing 1-3 percent.<\/p>\n

Energy stocks finished modestly higher as oil extended overnight gains. Lender ANZ lost 3.2 percent despite more than doubling its first-half cash profit.<\/p>\n

Nearmap surged 14.6 percent after the aerial mapping firm upgraded one of its key financial metrics – annual contract value – for the 2021 financial year.<\/p>\n

In economic news, data on the country’s services and construction sectors mostly painted a positive picture of the economy.<\/p>\n

New Zealand shares ended lower as strong job data boosted the kiwi dollar against all its major rivals and weighed on exporters.<\/p>\n

The jobless rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.7 percent in the first quarter of 2021, while analysts had expected it to hold at 4.9 percent.<\/p>\n

The benchmark NZX-50 Index fell 63.88 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,848.31. Shares of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare declined 2.8 percent.<\/p>\n

U.S. stocks fell broadly overnight after Janet Yellen suggested interest rates may have to rise modestly to prevent the economy from overheating amid the recent spike in government spending.<\/p>\n

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.9 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.7 percent, while the Dow reversed an early slide to finish marginally higher. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n