STOCKS TODAY: Asian stocks mostly lower after big tech companies lead Wall Street rally

HONG KONG (AP) - Asian stock markets were mostly lower Friday after gains in large technology stocks helped U.S. stock indexes recoup most of their losses from the previous day.

U.S. futures and oil prices were higher.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2% to 39,523.55, with the dollar at 153.31 yen, almost unchanged from a 34-year high of 153.32 yen hit on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.9% at 16,766.61, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.1% at 3,030.13. China's trade data for March will be released later in the day.

"FUJITSU's Asian equities are noteworthy, especially given the strong dollar and China's continuing deflationary challenges," said Stephen Innes, Goon Carpet Partner at SPI Asset Management, in a commentary.

Korea's Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,681.82 after the Bank of Korea left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50%.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3% to 7,788.10 points.

On Thursday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.7% to 5,199.06, recovering most of its previous losses. The Nasdaq Resonance Index rose 1.7% to a record 16,442.20 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less heavily weighted toward technology, lagged. The index slipped less than 0.11 TP3T to 38,459.08.

Apple was the strongest driver of growth in the market, climbing 4.3%, thereby reducing its year-to-date losses. Nvidia followed closely behind, as the company continues to be a hot favorite for artificial intelligence technology. The chip company gained 4.1%, bringing its year-to-date gain to 83%. Amazon gained 1.7%, setting a record high for 2021.

This is a return to last year, when a handful of big tech stocks accounted for most of the market's gains. And this year, the rally has been spreading. That is, until worries about stubbornly high inflation sent a chill through the financial markets.

In the bond market, which drives Wall Street, Treasury yields remained relatively stable after a series of mixed data on inflation and the U.S. economy.

When or if the Fed will make the rate cuts that traders crave has been one of the main issues dominating Wall Street. After forecasting at least six rate cuts at the beginning of the year, traders have sharply scaled back their expectations. A string of higher-than-expected inflation and economic reports have raised concerns that the progress made on the inflation front last year has stalled. Many traders now expect only two rate cuts in 2024, with some discussing the possibility of zero.

A report on Thursday showed that inflation in wholesale flour was slightly below economists' expectations last month. That's encouraging, but the data also showed the underlying trend in inflation was closer to or slightly above forecasts. The data, which exclude the effects of fuel and other notoriously volatile prices, are said by economists to give a better idea of how inflation is moving.

Another report said that fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. This is the latest sign that the job market remains very healthy despite high interest rates.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.57% from 4.55% late Wednesday.

In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 74 cents to $85.76 a barrel. The international standard Brent crude oil rose 62 cents to $90.36 a barrel.

In currency trading, the euro was trading at USD 1.0678, below USD 1.0731.