Asia report: Markets mixed as oil concerns linger

Markets in Asia finished in a mixed state on Monday, amid concern among investors around oil prices and ongoing US-China tension.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.09% at 22,269.88, as the yen remained stable against the dollar, last trading at JPY 113.83.

SoftBank was the big news of the day in Tokyo, as its domestic telecoms operation won approval to list in Tokyo in a massive $21bn initial public offering.

The company, to be dubbed SoftBank Corporation, would list on 19 December in one of the biggest IPOs in history.

SoftBank’s shares finished down 0.09%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.22% to 2,630.52, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite added 2.52% to 1,361.74.

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.27% lower at 2,080.44, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong managed gains of 0.12% to settle at 25,633.18.

Oil prices were once again high on the agenda, as the OPEC cartel of oil exporters warned markets about rising output, and its concerns that oversupply could set in during 2019.

A group of OPEC members and allied producing nations said that output cuts could be needed to maintain what they saw as balance in the market.

“The fairly quick downward correction in oil prices has finally stirred OPEC members to broach the topic of more output cuts over the weekend,” noted Mizuho Bank foreign exchange strategist Wei Liang Chang.

Chang said that a correction in oil prices was likely due to the pullback in global equities, with risks around output management exaggerating movements in prices as market sentiment reverses.

Reuters also reported that Saudi Arabia was looking to cut its oil supply to world markets by 0.5 million barrels per day next month.

Prices were higher after the Asian region went to bed, with Brent crude last up 1.02% at $70.90 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.95% to $60.77.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.33% to 5,941.30, with the hefty financials subindex losing 0.28% as the country’s major banks put in a mixed performance.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was down 2.95% and National Australia Bank slipped 0.08%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.16% and Westpac Banking Corporation was 0.14% higher.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.3% to close at 8,956.85.

The down under dollars were a mixed affair, with the Aussie last 0.2% weaker against the greenback at AUD 1.3865 and the Kiwi strengthening 0.2% to NZD 1.4814.