Asian shares mixed; Chinese economy grew 3.9% in July-Sept

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Monday, but benchmarks fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai after Beijing reported that the Chinese economy gained momentum in the last quarter.

Market watchers are keeping a cautious eye on inflationary pressures and any signs of risk for regional slowdowns.

The second-largest economy grew at a 3.9% annual pace, up from the previous quarter’s 0.4%, but that still was among the slowest expansions in decades as the country wrestled with repeated closures of cities to fight virus outbreaks.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added nearly 1.0% in morning trading to 27,156.95. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.5% to 6,776.50. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.1% to 2,238.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 4.3% to 15,509.38, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.7% to 3,017.00.

In China, Xi Jinping awarded himself a third five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party. Xi gave no sign of plans to change the severe “zero-COVID” strategy that has crimped business and trade. He indicated no changes in policies straining relations with Washington and Asian neighbors.

The future for London’s FTSE 100 edged lower after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he will not run to lead the Conservative Party. Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is now the favorite to replace Liz Truss, who quit last week after her tax-cutting economic package caused turmoil in financial markets.

Wall Street ended last week with a broad rally, with technology stocks, retailers and health care companies powering a big share of the gains.

The S&P 500 rose 2.4% to 3,752.75, notching a weekly gain of 4.7%, its biggest weekly gain since June.

The Dow climbed 2.5% to close at 31,082.56 and the Nasdaq composite added 2.3% The Russell 2000 index rose 2.2%, to finish at 1,742.24.

Investors have focused on corporate earnings as they search for clues about how inflation and rising interest rates are shaping global economies.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates another three-quarters of a percentage point at its meeting in November. That’s triple the size of the Fed’s usual move.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 148.82 Japanese yen from 147.65 yen. The Bank of Japan was reported to have intervened Friday to prop up the yen after the dollar rose above the 150 yen level. The dollar fell after the reported intervention. The euro cost 98.30 cents, down from 98.62 cents.

The dollar’s growing strength against the yen and other currencies has added to inflationary pressures in those countries by pushing up the costs of imports and of debt repayments.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 43 cents to $84.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 25 cents to $93.24 a barrel.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama