Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed after Dow sets a new record

Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday as investors grappled with the weak economic data from China and waited to see the outcome of a top Communist Party policy meeting in Beijing.

U.S. futures rose while oil prices fell.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 41,399.72 after reopening from a holiday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.5% to 17,747.65 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.4% to 2,963.25.

Markets were still digesting the set of weaker economic data of China released Monday, when the government reported that annual economic growth had fallen from 5.3% in the first quarter to 4.7% in the April to June quarter.

This led some economists to cut their growth forecasts. Goldman Sachs revised its forecast for China’s annual economic growth to 4.9% from a previous estimate of 5.0%. JP Morgan cut their full-year outlook for China’s 2024 GDP growth to 4.7% from an earlier projection of 5.2%.

Further policies were expected to be released during this week’s four-day economic meeting, a closed-door plenary meeting of the ruling Communist Party. It is expected to set strategies and policies for the coming decade, in line with leader Xi Jinping's push to pursue advances in future technologies.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3% to 2,869.15 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,011.10.

On Monday, Wall Street’s momentum kept driving it upward.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 5,631.22, finishing just shy of its all-time high set last week. It’s coming off its 10th winning week in the last 12, lifted in large part by expectations that inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to ease interest rates soon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 40,211.72 and set its own record, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to 18,472.57 and ended a bit short of its high.

Some of the market’s best performing areas were ones that do best when former President Donald Trump’s chances for election look better. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Trump’s Truth Social platform, leaped 31.4%. Bitcoin rose above $64,000 after Trump, who has painted himself as a crypto-friendly candidate, survived an assassination attempt over the weekend.

Trump could get an immediate bump in his support in polls, as President Ronald Regan did in 1981, according to Isaac Boltanksy, director of policy research at BTIG, and “Trump’s defiance following the attack could be the defining image of this election cycle.”

Yields for longer-term Treasurys also pushed higher than shorter-term ones, and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.22% from 4.19% late Friday. Something similar happened after last month’s debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, when traders maneuvered in anticipation of a Republican sweep in November that could ultimately mean policies that would raise the U.S. government’s debt.

Stocks of big financial companies, which could benefit from a lighter regulatory touch from a Republican administration, also helped lead the market. JPMorgan Chase climbed 2.5% and was one of the strongest forces pushing the S&P 500 higher.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 2.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. BlackRock, the asset manager behind the iShares exchange-traded funds, slipped 0.6% after topping forecasts for profit but coming up a bit shy for revenue.

For roughly a year, the Fed has been keeping its main interest rate at the highest level in more than two decades. Lower rates would release pressure that’s built up on the economy because of how expensive it’s become to borrow money to buy houses, cars, or anything on credit cards. Fed officials, though, have been saying they want to see “more good data” on inflation before making a move.

In remarks before the Economic Club of Washington, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said again on Monday he won’t send any signals about when the Fed may cut interest rates. But he also said Fed officials understand the risks of waiting both too long and not long enough. Too-late cuts could push the U.S. economy into a recession, while too-aggressive cuts could allow inflation to reaccelerate.

In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 23 cents to $81.68 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 21 cents to $84.64 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 158.56 Japanese yen from 158.01 yen. The euro fell to $1.0891 from $1.0894.

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person in traditional Japanese "kimono" walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person in traditional Japanese "kimono" walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange July 10, 2024, in New York. World shares began trading mixed on Monday, July 15, 2024, after China reported that its economy expanded at a lower-than-forecast 4.7% annual pace in the last quarter. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A currency trader walks near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 15, 2024. Asian shares began the week trading mixed as China reported that its economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual pace in the last quarter. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

FILE - The Fearless Girl statues faces the New York Stock Exchange on July 2, 2024, in New York. Global stocks are mixed on Friday, July 12, 2024, with the Japanese yen losing some of its gains after the latest U.S. update on inflation bolstered Wall Street's belief that relief on interest rates may come as soon as September. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A currency trader walks near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 15, 2024. Asian shares began the week trading mixed as China reported that its economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual pace in the last quarter. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 15, 2024. Asian shares began the week trading mixed as China reported that its economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual pace in the last quarter. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

LONDON (AP) — A superyacht that sank Monday off the Sicilian coast during a storm left at least five people dead and six passengers missing, including British tech kingpin Mike Lynch and some of his inner circle, who were gathered to celebrate his victory in a long-running legal trial.

Lynch was acquitted in June in a U.S. fraud case and was apparently aboard the Bayesian with some of the people who stood by him throughout the ordeal. Another member of Lynch's legal team who wasn't aboard, Reid Weingarten, said the outing was intended in part as a celebration of the acquittal.

Here's a look at the people who are dead or missing, as well as details on the recent death of an associate of Lynch who was not on the yacht.

Software entrepreneur Mike Lynch, along with his daughter, Hannah, are among those that police divers are searching for after the yacht was struck by a waterspout off of Porticello, near Palermo.

A spokesperson for Lynch said there were no updates Tuesday.

Lynch had been trying to move past a Silicon Valley debacle that had tarnished his legacy as an icon of British ingenuity.

A Cambridge-educated mathematician, Lynch made his mark with Autonomy, which made a search engine that could pore through emails and other internal business documents to help companies find vital information more quickly. Autonomy’s steady growth in its first decade resulted in Lynch being dubbed Britain’s Bill Gates and earning him one of the U.K’s highest honors, the Office of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2006.

Lynch, 59, sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. But the deal quickly turned sour after he was accused of cooking the books to make the sale.

The fraud allegations resulting in Lynch being fired by HP’s then-CEO Meg Whitman and a decade-long legal battle. It culminated with him being extradited from the U.K. to face criminal charges of masterminding a multibillion-dollar fraud.

Lynch steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that he was being made a scapegoat for HP’s own bungling — a position he maintained while testifying before a jury during a 2 1/2 month trial in San Francisco earlier this year. U.S. Justice Department prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses in an attempt to prove their allegations against Lynch.

Lynch was vindicated at trial in June after being cleared of all charges. Lynch pledged to return to the U.K. and explore new ways to innovate.

Although he avoided a possible prison sentence, Lynch still faced a potentially huge bill stemming from a civil cased in London that HP mostly won in 2022. Damages haven’t been determined in that case, but HP is seeking $4 billion. Lynch made more than $800 million from the Autonomy sale.

Lynch later went on to set up technology investment firm Invoke Capital.

One of Lynch’s U.S. lawyers, Christopher Morvillo of the firm Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda were also on the yacht and are among those unaccounted for.

Morvillo is regarded as an elite defense attorney specializing in fraud and corruption cases. He was previously a federal prosecutor in New York who worked on the criminal investigation of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. His father, Robert Morvillo, was also a lawyer who represented high-profile clients, including Martha Stewart.

In a LinkedIn post soon after Lynch's acquittal, Morvillo paid tribute to the team of lawyers who worked on the case and also his wife and two daughters.

“None of this would have been possible without your love and support. I am so glad to be home,” he wrote. The post ended with the words: “And they all lived happily ever after….”

In a legal podcast released last week, Morvillo recounted his involvement with Lynch's case, starting from when his firm was hired in November 2012.

He flew to London to meet Lynch on Thanksgiving weekend that year and assumed he would be gone for a week, Morvillo told the For the Defense podcast. Instead, Morvillo said he “spent a significant portion of the rest of my life bouncing back and forth between London and New York.”

The case has “covered one third of my career,” he said. “It has been a constant presence in my life for the last 12 years.”

Clifford Chance said it was “in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident” and that its thoughts are with Morvillo and his wife. “Our utmost priority is providing support to the family,” the firm said.

The chairman of Morgan Stanley's London-based investment banking subsidiary, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife, Judy, were also among the yacht's missing.

Bloomer is non-executive chairman of both Morgan Stanley International, which covers markets outside the U.S., and the Hiscox Group, an insurer that does business on the Lloyd’s of London insurance marketplace.

Lynch appointed Bloomer to Autonomy’s board of directors in 2010, where he served as chairman of the audit committee at the time of the HP deal. Bloomer testified for the defense at Lynch’s trial.

Both Morgan Stanley and Hiscox said they were “deeply shocked and saddened" by the tragedy.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular the Bloomer family, as we all wait for further news from this terrible situation," the bank said.

Aki Hussain, the group chief executive of Hiscox, said "our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation.”

In a strange coincidence, another former Autonomy executive who was acquitted alongside Lynch of the fraud charges died days before the sinking of the Bayesian.

Stephen Chamberlain “was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out running,” his lawyer Gary Lincenberg said in a statement.

Chamberlain, formerly a vice-president of finance at the company, was accused of artificially inflating Autonomy’s revenues and making false and misleading statements to auditors, analysts and regulators.

He stood trial with Lynch, and was also found not guilty.

“He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity. We deeply miss him," Lincenberg said. “Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family.”

Chamberlain “was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend," his family said in statement released through Cambridgeshire Police. “He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible."

Police said the driver, a 49-year-old woman, remained at the scene in the village of Stretham, England, and was assisting with the investigation.

The chef with Antiguan roots was the first confirmed death from the accident. Cooking for Lynch was supposed to be one of his last jobs before retiring, his cousin, David Isaac, told The Associated Press.

Thomas was born in Canada but he would visit his parents’ homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s.

“He was a free spirit,” Isaac recalled. “Nothing rattled him. I’ve never seen him upset.”

Upon moving to Antigua, Thomas, best known as “Rick,” started working as a bartender in Jolly Harbor so he could be close to the sea, his second love after cooking, Isaac said.

Thomas also picked up jobs on small boats and eventually went to culinary school and started working on bigger ships.

Isaac recalled how Thomas would be gone for several months at a time and then unexpectedly show up in Antigua between jobs.

“This particular incident was hard,” Isaac said. “He was just ready to tie up the end of his journey in his career."

Isaac recalled Thomas’ “big, infectious” laugh and said he found some solace in that “Rick did exactly what he was meant to do and what he loved doing.”

AP writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Anika Kentish in St. John's, Antigua, contributed to this report.

This version has corrected a date to 2001 sted 2002.

Emergency services at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello Santa Flavia, Italy, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. British tech giant Mike Lynch, his lawyer and four other people are among those missing after their luxury superyacht sank during a freak storm off Sicily, Italy’s civil protection and authorities said. Lynch’s wife and 14 other people survived. (Alberto Lo Bianco /LaPresse via AP)

FILE - British tech magnate Mike Lynch walks into federal court in San Francisco, March 26, 2024, (AP Photo/Michael Liedtke, File)

Tech tycoon, defense attorney, and Morgan Stanley banker among those missing in freak yacht sinking

Tech tycoon, defense attorney, and Morgan Stanley banker among those missing in freak yacht sinking