BEIJING — Asian stocks rose Friday while Europe opened lower as most major markets headed for big annual losses following a year that was roiled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and interest rate hikes to cool surging inflation.
Shanghai and Tokyo advanced. London and Frankfurt declined. U.S. futures were lower heading into Wall Street’s final trading day of 2022. Oil prices fell back.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained Thursday after the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose only slightly last week despite interest rate hikes to cool inflation by slowing economic activity.
“Considering the market news was sparse, the shift higher has the hallmarks of a dead cat bounce,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management in a report.
In early trading, the FTSE in London lost 0.4% to 7,483.42. It is on track to become the only major market with a gain for 2022, rising about 1% for the year.
Other markets are set for annual losses after Russia’s attack on Ukraine pushed up oil and wheat prices and the Federal Reserve and other global central banks hiked rates to slow economic activity and cool inflation that is at multi-decade highs. China’s shutdown of Shanghai and other cities to fight COVID-19 outbreaks disrupted manufacturing and shipping.
The DAX in Frankfurt shed 0.6% to 13,996.57. It is headed for a 12% loss in 2022. The CAC-40 in Paris declined 0.5% to 6,539.21. It is down 9.5% for the year.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 future was off 0.4%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 1.7%. It will end the year down about 20%, which would be its biggest annual decline since 2008.
The Dow gained 1% and the Nasdaq composite added 2.6%. Both are headed for annual losses.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5% to 3,089.25. The Chinese benchmark is on track to end 2022 down more than 14% after the world’s second-largest economy was depressed by anti-virus controls and a crackdown on corporate debt.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 finished unchanged at 26,094.50. It is headed for an annual loss of almost 10%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2% to 19,781.41. It is off more than 14% this year.
Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was 0.3% higher at 7,038.70. India’s Sensex opened up 0.3% at 61,133.88. New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets rose.
South Korean markets were closed for a holiday. The country’s benchmark Kospi index is headed for a loss of more than 25% for the year.
Investors worry central banks are willing to cause a recession if necessary.
The Fed’s key lending rate stands at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% after seven increases this year. The U.S. central bank forecasts that will reach a range of 5% to 5.25% by the end of 2023. Its forecast doesn’t call for a rate cut before 2024.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude fell 50 cents to $77.90 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 56 cents on Thursday to $78.40. Brent crude, used as the price basis for international oil trading, gave up 36 cents to $83.10 per barrel in London. It lost $1 the previous session to $82.26 a barrel.
The dollar declined to 132.02 yen from Thursday’s 132.90 yen. The euro edged down to $1.0668 from $1.0677.
