AP – Global shares retreated yesterday in thin trading as the year was drawing to a close without the euphoria that pushed many world markets to record highs in 2024.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended 1 per cent lower, at 39,894.54. The last trading session of the year ended on a somber note with the Japan Exchange Group’s Chief Executive Officer Hiromi Yamaji apologising during the traditional yearend ceremony over a recent insider trading case.
“I acknowledge trust towards the market is essential for investors to trade with confidence,” Yamaji said. The exchange is working to improve training and verify findings of an independent investigation, he said, adding that “we are doing are our utmost best to rebuild trust and prevent this from happening again”.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.4 per cent to 19,896.66, and the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4 per cent at 7,328.22. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.4 per cent to 8,119.74.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both 0.3 per cent lower.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.2 per cent to 2,399.49 and shares of Jeju Air Co lost 8.7 per cent after one of the company’s jets skidded off a runway on Sunday. Authorities were investigating why the aircraft’s landing gear failed to deploy, killing 179 of the 181 people aboard.
The disaster was yet another blow for Boeing in a dispiriting year, following a machinists strike, further safety problems with its troubled top-selling aircraft and a plunging stock price.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.2 per cent at 20,041.42 while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2 per cent to 3,407.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.3 per cent to 8,235.00.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent. Roughly 90 per cent of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7 per cent for the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 1.5 per cent. The losses were worsened by sharp declines for Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size.
Despite Friday’s drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25 per cent in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20 per cent, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998.
The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labour market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing.
A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2 per cent in November, following a slight gain in October.
