NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks hung near record highs on Monday after a wild start to the week for financial markets in Asia, where Japanese stocks fell and Chinese indexes rose.

The S&P 500 was flat in midday trading, coming off its sixth winning week in the past seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 125 points, or 0.3 percent. All-time high set on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1% at 11:30 a.m. ET.

It’s a break for Wall Street after its catapult to record expectations of a US economic slowdown. May continue to grow. While the Federal Reserve A reduction in interest rates To give it more juice. A big test will come on Friday, when the US government releases its latest monthly update on the job market.

A dominant concern on Wall Street is whether the economy is already headed for recession. Although the Fed cut rates earlier this month and signaled that more relief is on the way, U.S. employers have already started Return to their job. Earlier this month, the Fed kept interest rates at a two-decade high. Slowing down the economy Enough to seal High inflation.

Bank of America strategists and economists wrote in a BofA Global Research report that “payrolls remain the biggest catalyst” for the U.S. stock market leading up to the election.

At Goldman Sachs, economist David Merkel said he expected Friday’s report to show hiring in September was stronger than the 146,000 increase in payrolls that Wall Street economists had widely forecast.

In the past, stronger-than-expected numbers could hurt the stock market by fueling concerns of upward pressure on inflation. Now, though, it will likely be welcomed as a sign that recession may not be such a big worry.

Interest rates and the strength of the economy are usually the two main levers that determine stock prices. In Asia, the levers were pulling in opposite directions.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 4.8 percent on fears that the country’s incoming prime minister will support higher interest rates and other policies that investors see as less market-friendly. Shigeru is ready for Ishiba. Take over Tuesday.

Ishiba has expressed support for the Bank of Japan’s move. Eliminate interest rates From their near-zero levels, that puts upward pressure on the value of the Japanese yen. A stronger yen could hurt the profits of Japanese exporters, who sell in other currencies and then convert them back into yen.

Toyota Motor’s stock fell 7.6 percent in Tokyo, while Honda Motor’s fell 7 percent on Monday.

Stellantis, the company that owns the Jeep brand and others, fell 14.9 percent in Milan Cutting his forecast for future profits. It cited the investment to boost its US operations and Chinese competitiveness.

The story continues.

This in turn helped pull automakers Ford Motor and General Motors onto Wall Street. Ford fell 2.3 percent, and GM fell 3.8 percent.

Also on Wall Street, cruise ship operator Carnival lost 2.3% even though it reported stronger-than-expected profit and revenue for the latest quarter. It forecast growth in a key core measure of profit in the current quarter that fell short of analysts’ estimates.

Another gain for Apple was helping offset those losses and was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 higher. After weakening along with other big tech stocks in late July amid concerns that they were overvalued, Apple’s stock is climbing back to its all-time high. Time to close at a high of $234.82. It rose 1.9% to $232.01 on Monday.

In China, meanwhile, indexes rose 8.1% in Shanghai and 2.4% in Hong Kong, following the latest stimulus announcements for the world’s second-largest economy. It was the best day for Shanghai stocks in nearly 16 years.

China’s central bank on Sunday announced an easing of mortgage rates for existing home loans until October 31. hustle and bustle Of Announcements China’s central bank and government last week aimed to support the Chinese economy, which has seen growth. flagging Partly because of the weight of the one Struggle in real estate sector.

Markets in mainland China will be closed from Tuesday to October 7 to mark a holiday marking 75 years of communist rule.

In the bond market, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to 3.77 percent from 3.75 percent late Friday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations of what the Fed will do with short-term rates, adds more. It increased to 3.60 percent from 3.56 percent.

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Contributed by Zimo Zhong, the author of the Apk.