Asian shares mixed after Nasdaq hits record high
TOKYO — Shares meandered in quiet trading in Asia on Wednesday after the Dow Jones industrial average inched closer to 20,000 and the Nasdaq Composite rose to a record high.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat at 19,401.72 as Toshiba Corp.’s shares plunged a “limit-down” 20 per cent due to anticipated losses on its U.S. nuclear power operations. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 gained 1 per cent to 5,685.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.4 per cent to 21,654.44 while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.3 per cent to 3,105.17. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.8 per cent to 2,027.51. Shares in Southeast Asia were mostly higher.
WALL STREET: Trading was light following the long holiday weekend, with less than 1.9 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. That’s the lightest full day of trading since October 2015. The Dow added 11.23 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 19,945.04. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 5.09 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,268.88. The Nasdaq rose 24.75 points, or 0.5 per cent, to a record high 5,487.44.
THIS YEAR: The three major U.S. indexes have posted solid gains in 2016, led by the Dow, which is up 14.5 per cent. The S&P 500 is on track for an 11 per cent gain, while the Nasdaq is headed for a 9.6 per cent gain. Small-company stocks are up even more. The Russell 2000 is up 21 per cent so far this year. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is just below where it began the year.