Stock markets today: Asia mixed ahead of US earnings

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A man stands near a sign of a foreign currency outside an exchange office in a shopping area in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday, April 25th 2023. Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, after Wall Street edged up as investors awaited U.S. earning reports and an update about economic growth.

Lee Jin-man/AP

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A currency trader walks past the screen displaying the Korea Composite Stock Price Index KOSPI at a foreign-exchange dealing room in Seoul (South Korea), Tuesday, April 25th 2023. Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, after Wall Street edged up as investors awaited U.S. quarterly earnings reports and an update about economic growth.

Lee Jin-man/AP

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A currency trader walks past the screens that show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, left, and the foreign rate of exchange between the U.S. Dollar and South Korean won in a foreign exchange room in Seoul South Korea on Tuesday, April 25th 2023. Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, after Wall Street was slightly higher. Investors awaited U.S. quarterly earnings reports and an update about economic growth.

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A currency trader passes by screens that show the foreign exchange rate at a foreign-exchange dealing room in Seoul (South Korea), Tuesday, April 25th 2023. Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, after Wall Street edged up as investors awaited U.S. earning reports and an update about economic growth.

Lee Jin-man/AP

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A currency trader looks at computer monitors next to the screen that shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or KOSPI, in a foreign exchange room, Tuesday, 25 April 2023, in Seoul, South Korea. Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday, after Wall Street edged up as investors awaited U.S. quarterly earnings reports and an update about economic growth.

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BEIJING, China (AP) - Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday as Wall Street edged up. Investors awaited U.S. quarterly earnings reports and an update about economic growth.

Tokyo grew, while Shanghai and Hong Kong decreased. Oil prices remained unchanged.

The benchmark S&P 500 index on Wall Street gained 0.1% Monday after Coca-Cola Co. reported better-than-expected quarterly profits. This week, 170 major U.S. corporations are expected to announce their earnings.

This week's U.S. economic data is expected to show that the economy has slowed down following recent interest rate increases to cool stubbornly rising inflation.

Edward Moya, of Oanda, said that if the economy slows down, tech stocks may face a "difficult" environment in maintaining the high prices which have helped boost the market. He said that stocks are facing 'big risk' due to corporate earnings, and the battle in Washington about raising the government debt limit.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7% to 3250.79, while the Nikkei225 in Tokyo rose less than 0.1% at 28,620.07. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.9% to 19,578.20.

The Kospi in Seoul fell 1.6% to 2482.50, after South Korea reported an unexpectedly strong growth in its economy in the first three months. This avoided a technical contraction. The Korean economy expanded by 0.3% in the three months prior, bouncing back from a contraction of 0.4%.

India's Sensex rose 0.2% to 60,175.77. Singapore and Bangkok fell. New Zealand and Australian markets closed due to a holiday.

S&P 500 climbed to 4,137.04 Monday on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.2% to 33 875.40, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 12,037.20.

Analysts predict that companies in the S&P 500 will report their largest drop in earnings since spring 2020, when pandemic paralyzed economy.

Microsoft will report its earnings on Tuesday, and Amazon on Thursday. Microsoft dropped 1.4%, and Amazon fell 0.7%.

Most companies have beaten earnings forecasts so far in this reporting season.

Wall Street also awaits the first estimate on how fast the U.S. economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of this year. Economists predict that growth will slow down to 1.9% on an annual basis, from 2.6% at the end of 2022.

Mortgages have become more expensive due to higher rates. The manufacturing sector and other sectors of the economy are also suffering, but the job market is still strong.

Next week, the Federal Reserve will meet. Wall Street is expecting the U.S. Central Bank to increase interest rates one last time before taking a break. Many traders believe the Fed will need to lower rates in the second half of the year to support the economy. Fed officials insist they will maintain high rates at least until the end of the year.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, electronic trading of benchmark U.S. Crude gained 2 cents per barrel to reach $78.78. On Monday, the contract increased by 89 cents to $78.76. Brent crude, which is the basis for international oil trade, gained 2 cents per barrel to $82.56 in London. The previous session, it rose $1.07 to $82.73.

The dollar dropped to 134.21 from 134.27 on Monday. The euro increased to $1.1051 compared to $1.1046.