Shares were lower in Asia in thin trading Monday, with many markets including those in Tokyo and Shanghai closed for holidays.
Markets have mostly climbed in recent weeks as investors remain optimistic that the pandemic is slowly and steadily coming to a close, at least in the United States. The S&P 500 rose 5.2% in April, its best monthly gain since November 2020, when President Joe Biden was elected.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI, -1.48% lost 1.6%, and the Kospi 180721, -0.23% in South Korea slipped 0.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.03% inched 0.1% lower, while shares fell in Singapore STI, -1.
On Friday, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.72% closed at 4,181.17. The index eked out a gain of less than 0.1% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.54% fell 0.5% to 33,874.85 and the Nasdaq COMP, -0.85% lost 0.9% to 13,962.68. Corporate earnings have helped drive recent gains. More than half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported their results, which show earnings growth of 54% percent so far for index, according to FactSet.