Asia report: Markets finish a choppy year mixed

Markets in Asia finished their last trading day of the year mixed, following on from a weak offering in the US overnight.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.16% lower at 19,114.37, while the yen was weaker, last showing a 0.3% retreat against the greenback at JPY 116.89 per $1.

The benchmark eked out a 0.4% gain for the year as a whole, though that still made for the Nikkei’s first five-year run of growth since 1990.

Embattled airbag manufacturer Takata soared 21.22% amid continuing reports that it could reach a settlement deal with the US Department of Justice before the Trump administration takes the reins in Washington, DC in January.

Technology giant Toshiba was also up, adding 9.43% as the company confirmed goodwill charges in the several billions of dollars for its Westinghouse subsidiary in the US.

The stock was still down 36% for the week, as investor feared a multi-billion dollar write down in the US nuclear power development division.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite finished up 0.24% at 3,103.40 on Friday, while its losses for the year were 12%.

It was also reported that renminbi was the region’s worst performing currency for 2016, losing 6.6% against the dollar over the 12 months.

Traders were anticipating a change from Beijing in the way it calculated the loose peg for the onshore yuan in the new year.

Authorities are set to double the number of foreign currencies in the basket it uses to set the value, Beijing confirmed late on Thursday.

“This shows that the government is trying to adopt a more flexible approach to stabilize the yuan against the backdrop of the strengthening U.S. dollar,” said CMC Markets market analyst Margaret Yang.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.96% to finish at 22,000.56, with financial stocks including AIA and ICBC leading the charge.

Looking at the year, the Shenzhen Composite in China was Asia’s worst performer of 2016 with losses of almost 15%, while the Karachi All-Share Index in Pakistan was the biggest winner, gaining 45%.

Oil prices were weaker on Friday, with Brent crude last down 0.16% at $56.76, and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.02% at $53.76 per barrel.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.58% at 5,665.79, with the weighty financials subindex dragging the benchmark, and gold stocks soaring.

AMP and Macquarie lost around 1% each in the paper-based sector, while Evolution Mining was up 10% and Newcrest Mining added 5.14% in the yellow metal corner.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 spent much of the session in the green, but fell off sharply towards the end of a truncated session to settle down 0.16% at 6,881.22.

The Australasian bourses both came out of the year on top, with the ASX gaining 7% through 2016, and the NZX finishing near 9%.

It was a mixed picture for the down under dollars on Friday, with the Aussie last 0.05% stronger against the greenback at AUD 1.3845, and the Kiwi 0.01% weaker at NZD 1.4365 per $1.