Asia report: Markets finish Monday mostly lower
Markets in Asia finished mostly lower on Monday, with weakness in Korean tech firms leading losses on the peninsula while Chinese traders kept a watchful eye on bond markets.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.24% to 22,495.99, as the yen gained 0.38% on the dollar to last trade at JPY 111.11.
Manufacturers and trading houses featured at the lower end, while technology stocks ended mixed.
Video games giant Nintendo was 2.38% higher amid reports the Black Friday shopping holiday in the US was a boon for the company’s products.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was off 0.92% at 3,322.82, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite fell 1.56% to 1,892.82.
According to a report from Reuters, industrial firms in China saw their profits rise 25.1% year-on-year in October, up from the 27.7% improvement noted in September.
Also affecting markets in the People’s Republic was the news on Friday that Beijing was lowering tariffs on 187 categories of consumer goods from 1 December.
South Korea’s Kospi was 1.44% lower at 2,507.81, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slipped 0.6% to 29,686.19.
Among the technology names under the cosh in Seoul were LG Display, which was off 1.44%, and SK Hynix, which fell 2.35%.
Samsung Electronics slid 5.08%, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to ‘equal weight’ from ‘overweight’, and slashed its price target to KRW 2.8m per share.
Traders in South Korea were also looking ahead to the central bank's interest rates decision on Thursday, with a 25 basis point hike widely expected, according to an October poll by Reuters.
Oil prices were below the waterline for much of the Asian session, with Brent crude last down 0.63% at $63.46 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 1.1% at $58.31.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 went against the regional trend, adding 0.1% to close at 5,988.77.
Energy and resources plays were on the bottom end, however, with Santos down 0.79%, BHP off 0.07% and Rio Tinto losing 0.01%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was up 0.6% at 8,176.10, led higher again by retirement property developer Ryman, which was ahead 5.6% to reach a new record price.
The company had now gained 12% since it reported an 8.4% uptick in first-half profit, along with an increased interim dividend, on Thursday.
Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.25% at AUD 1.3096 and the Kiwi advancing 0.36% at NZD 1.4489.