Asian shares mostly higher as Wall Street closes previous week near records

Asian shares were mostly higher Monday, after Wall Street finished the previous week near their record levels.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 per cent to 26,505.18. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2 per cent to 3,878.57. Worries are simmering about China's economy, as analysts say the data for August aren't strong enough to reflect ongoing dynamic growth, especially given the damage from US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. China's retail sales rose 3.4 per cent, and factory output was up 5.2 per cent.

The underlying flow is shifting. For years, Beijing leaned on exports as the carry trade that kept growth rolling even as property cracked. But with Trump's tariffs slicing through supply chains, that leg of the trade is gone, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 per cent to 8,836.50, while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.4 per cent to 3,409.94. Stock trading was closed Monday for a national holiday in Japan.

Wall Street ended Friday with the S&P 500 edging down by less than 0.1 per cent from the all-time high set Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 273 points, or 0.6 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4 per cent.

The recent rallies are coming because of expectations the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its meeting next week. That means that, if the interest rate cuts don't happen, the market could drop in disappointment.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 3.18 points to 6,584.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 273.78 to 45,834.22, and the Nasdaq composite rose 98.03 to 22,141.10.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury recovered some of its drop from earlier in the week, rising Friday to 4.06 per cent from 4.01 per cent late Thursday.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude rose 42 cents to USD 63.11 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 41 cents to USD 67.40 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar inched down to 147.45 Japanese yen from 147.65 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1730, little changed from USD 1.1732.