BANGKOK — Shares were mostly higher Monday in Asia after strong data on the U.S. economy sent Wall Street to its best close in six weeks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index HSI rose 0.2% to 20,620 and the Shanghai Composite index SHCOMP lost 0.1% to 3,322. “The slower-than-expected GDP growth target set by the government of around 5% matches our GDP forecast of 5% for this year,” ING said in a commentary. “The government realizes that a weakening external market would impose challenges to China’s export-related industries.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA climbed 387 points, or 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP jumped 2%. The strong data raised concerns about continued upward pressure on inflation. That forced Wall Street to abandon hopes for rate cuts this year and raise its expectations for how high rates would go.