Shares were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a record as Wall Street geared up for Federal Reserve’s most anticipated meeting in years.
Tokyo’s Nikkei index fell 2% to 35,828.54 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 1.4% to 17,661.70.
Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 8,143.00.
Traders are eagerly awaiting the Fed's decision Wednesday on interest rates, which it is expected to cut for the first time in more than four years. The U.S. central bank has been keeping rates high to tamp down inflation and the main question is how much relief for the economy the Fed will deliver.
“The warning is that markets steeped in rich policy expectations are ripe for volatility,” Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. “Accordingly, it may be best to be braced for (policy) curveballs that could potentially force market re-pricing.”
On Monday, the Dow rose 228 points, or 0.6%, to surpass its prior all-time high set a few weeks ago. It closed at 41,622.08.
The S&P 500 index, which is much more comprehensive and widely followed on Wall Street, ticked up by 0.1% to climb within 0.6% of its own record set in July, ending at 5,633.09.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.5% to 17,592.13 as big technology stocks and other market superstars gave back a bit of their big gains from recent years.
Most stocks rose, and Oracle’s 5.1% gain helped lead the market. The software company continued a strong run that began last week with a better-than-expected profit report.
Alcoa jumped 6.1% after saying it would sell its ownership stake in a Saudi Arabian joint venture to Saudi Arabian Mining Co. for $950 million in stock and $150 million in cash. But drops for some influential Big Tech stocks kept indexes in check. Apple fell 2.8% and Nvidia lost 1.9%. They’re among the market’s most influential stocks because they’re among the largest by market value.
Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises rose 14.5% after it said a U.S. judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the company, one based on allegations by a research firm that looks for financial irregularities at companies and tries to profit when the stock prices fall.
Fertilizer producer Mosaic fell 3.6% after it said electrical equipment failures at mines and Hurricane Francine will reduce its production of potash and phosphate in the current quarter.
Traders are shifting bets toward a larger-than-usual rate cut by the Fed of half a percentage point, according to data from CME Group. The difference between a half-point cut and a quarter may sound academic, but it can have far-ranging effects. Lower rates relieve pressure on the economy, but it can also fuel inflation.
Inflation has eased substantially from its peak two summers ago, and the Fed has said it can now focus on supporting the slowing job market and economy. Some critics say it may be moving too late, increasing the risk of a possible recession.
In other dealings, the dollar fell to 140.56 Japanese yen from 140.61 yen. The yen has risen with expectations that the Bank of Japan will persist in raising rates after keeping them near zero for years, although it is expected to stand pat at its policy meeting this week.
“The Bank of Japan’s upcoming policy meeting is expected to reaffirm its commitment to gradual rate hikes, which could further bolster the yen soon,” Luca Santos, currency analyst at ACY Securities, said in a commentary.
The euro slipped to $1.1127 from $1.1135.
U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 49 cents to $70.58 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 32 cents to $73.07 a barrel.
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
FILE - The American flag hangs from the front of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday it will permanently block its border with South Korea and boost its front-line defense posture to cope with “confrontational hysteria" by South Korean and U.S. forces, while not announcing an expected constitutional revision to formally designate South Korea its principal enemy and codify new national borders.
While the moves were likely a pressure tactic, it's unclear how they will affect ties with South Korea since cross-border travel and exchanges have been halted for years.
North Korea's military said it will “completely cut off roads and railways ” linked to South Korea and “fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures,” according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
The North's military called its steps a “self-defensive measure for inhibiting war and defending the security” of North Korea. It said that “the hostile forces are getting ever more reckless in their confrontational hysteria.” It cited what it called various war exercises in South Korea, the deployment of U.S. strategic assets and its rivals' harsh rhetoric.
North Korea said it sent a message to the U.S. military to explain its fortification activity to prevent any misjudgment and potential accidental clashes.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said it confirmed the North Korean message with the American-led U.N. Command. It said South Korea is closely communicating and coordinating with the U.N. Command but didn't elaborate.
South Korean officials earlier said North Korea had already been adding anti-tank barriers and reinforcing roads on its side of the border since April in a likely attempt to boost its front-line security posture and prevent its soldiers and citizens from defecting to South Korea. In a report to parliament on Tuesday, South Korea's Unification Ministry said that North Korea has been removing ties on the northern side of cross-border railways and nearby lamps and planting mines along the border.
KCNA earlier Wednesday said the Supreme People’s Assembly met for two days this week to amend the legal ages of North Koreans for working and participating in elections. But it didn't say whether the meeting dealt with leader Kim Jong Un's order in January to rewrite the constitution to remove the goal of a peaceful Korean unification, formally designate South Korea as the country’s “invariable principal enemy” and define the North’s sovereign, territorial sphere.
At the center of outside attention was whether North Korea makes new legal claims on the waters currently controlled by South Korea off their west coast. The poorly marked western sea boundary is where three bloody naval skirmishes and two deadly attacks blamed on North Korea happened in the past 25 years.
Some experts say North Korea might have delayed the constitutional revision but others speculated it amended the constitution without announcing it because of its sensitivity.
Kim's order stunned many North Korea watchers because it was seen as breaking away with his predecessors' long-cherished dreams of achieving a unified Korea on the North's terms. Experts say Kim likely aims to diminish South Korea’s voice in the regional nuclear standoff and seek direct dealings with the U.S. They say Kim also likely hopes to diminish South Korean cultural influence and bolster his rule at home.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with North Korea continuing a run of provocative weapons tests and South Korea and the U.S. expanding their military drills. KCNA said North Korea on Tuesday tested a long-range artillery system that observers say pose a direct threat to Seoul, the South Korean capital, which is only an hour’s drive from the border.
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Visitors watch North Korean side from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
North Korean soldiers stand at the North's military guard post, seen from Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A visitor watches North Korean side from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A North Korean flag is seen in North Korea's town Kaepoong, seen from Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A South Korean national flag flutters in the wind at the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A visitor walks past a signboard showing the distance to North Korea's capital Pyongyang and to South Korea's capital Seoul from Imjingang Station in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A North Korean flag flutters in the wind atop a 160-meter (525-foot) tower in the North's Kijong-dong village near the truce village of Panmunjom, seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
In this photo provided Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, by the North Korean government, assembly members attend the Supreme People’s Assembly at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Barricades are placed near the Unification Bridge, which leads to the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
In this photo provided Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, by the North Korean government, Choe Ryong Hae, the chairman of the Assembly’s Standing Committee, speaks during the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this undated photo provided on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2024 by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, watches an artillery exercise at an undisclosed place in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this undated photo provided on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2024 by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits to watch an artillery exercise at an undisclosed place in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
