Stock market today: Asian shares trade mixed, as Tokyo and Seoul are shuttered for New Year holidays

TOKYO (AP) — Asian markets shares were mixed on Tuesday, with trading closed in Tokyo and Seoul for New Year holidays.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney skidded 0.6% to 8,182.80 in early trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5% to 20,140.91, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2% to 3,399.74 after Chinese manufacturing data seemed to show that Beijing’s stimulus measures have not done enough to boost the nation’s sluggish economy.

On Monday, U.S. stocks closed broadly lower, with the S&P 500 falling 1.1% to 5,906.94, its third straight decline. Roughly 90% of stocks within the index lost ground. On the second-to-last day of 2024, the benchmark index was still on track for its second straight yearly gain of more than 20%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to 42,573.73, and the Nasdaq composite ended 1.2% lower, at 19,486.78.

Big Tech companies were the heaviest weights on the market, worsening the slump. Apple and Microsoft fell 1.3%. Their pricey valuations tend to have an outsized impact on the broader market.

Elsewhere among tech stocks, Meta Platforms dropped 1.4%, Netflix slipped 0.8% and Amazon fell 1.1%.

The S&P 500’s technology and communication services sectors have been the market’s high flyers, notching gains of 37.1% and 39.9%, respectively, so far this year.

Boeing fell 2.3% after one of its jets skidded off a runway in South Korea, killing 179 of the 181 people aboard. South Korea is inspecting all 737-800 aircraft operated by airlines in the country.

The disaster was yet another blow for Boeing following a machinists strike, further safety problems with its troubled top-selling aircraft and a plunging stock price. Its shares have declined more than 30% this year.

Airlines that fly Boeing jets wavered in the wake of the crash. United Airlines fell 1.4% and Delta Air Lines dropped 0.9%.

Markets are nearing the close of a stellar year driven by a growing economy, solid consumer spending and a strong jobs market. Wall Street expects companies within the S&P 500 to report broad earnings growth of more than 9% for the year, according to FactSet. The final figures will be tallied following fourth-quarter reports that start in a few weeks.

Investors were encouraged by inflation cooling throughout the year to close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. That raised hopes that the central bank would deliver a steady stream of interest rate cuts, which would ease borrowing costs and fuel more economic growth.

The Fed cut interest rates three times in 2024, but has signaled a more cautious approach heading into 2025 as inflation shows signs of reheating. The latest report on consumer prices showed that inflation edged slightly higher, to 2.7%, in November.

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