Asia report: Markets mixed after Fed minutes; Lenovo leaps

Markets in Asia finished in a mixed state on Thursday, as traders sifted through the latest Fed minutes released stateside overnight, with shares in Hong Kong tech manufacturer Lenovo rocketing.

In Japan, the Nikkei 2245 was up 0.15% at 21,464.23, as the yen strengthened 0.21% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 110.62.

The broader Topix index was broadly flat, eking out gains of just 0.002% to close at 1,613.50 in Tokyo.

Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group went against the bourse’s trend, however, and ended the day down 1.63%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite slid 0.34% to 2,751.80, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite lost 0.27% to 1,444.35.

South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.05% to end the day at 2,228.66, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.41% higher at 28,629.92.

Computer manufacturer Lenovo surged 11.91% in Hong Kong, after the company confirmed it had returned to profit in its third quarter, and beat market forecasts.

The firm - whose primary focus is business computing under the ‘ThinkPad’ range of products - reported profit of $233m for the period, swinging from a loss of $288m year-on-year.

Technology was also the theme of the day in South Korea, as sector behemoth Samsung Electronics took the wraps off its latest series of Galaxy smartphones.

Shares in the company - the world’s largest smartphone brand - only added 0.11%, however, adding fuel to the argument that smartphone releases are becoming overly iterative and excessively expensive, and not enticing customers like they once did.

Samsung competitor Apple has seen its share price and bottom line suffer in recent months after its latest iPhone releases - the iPhone XS and Xr - failed to gain decent traction in the market, leading to significant discounting from the US tech brand.

Trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing were still high on the agenda for traders, as the two administrations apparently continued to work towards a mutually beneficial deal before the 1 March deadline imposed by the US.

The Trump administration has a fresh round of punitive tariffs lined up to be applied to Chinese goods on 1 March should the two nations fail to reach agreement, but many market analysts are pinning their hopes on the White House agreeing to extend that deadline.

“Hopes that the US will extent the March 1 tariff deadline are growing and any confirmation of this should provide a relief rally across stocks and risk trades with implementation probably leading to a strong sell off,” noted analysts at Rakuten Securities Australia.

Investors in Asia were also digesting the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting earlier in the session, in which members of the central bank noted a number of downside risks, including a potential “sharper-than-expected” global slowdown driven by China and Europe.

The Federal Open Market Committee also spoke of a “patient” approach to further interest rate hikes, with the members discussing that they should keep an eye on the numerous headwinds before making further moves.

Oil prices were lower as the region went to bed, with Brent crude last down 0.25% at $66.91 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.25% to $57.02.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to settle at 6,139.20, as the hefty financials subindex grew 1.5%.

That movement was led by the big four banks of the region, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group rising 1.93%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia adding 2.01%, National Australia Bank advancing 0.69%, and Westpac Banking Corporation moving ahead 1.32%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was 0.6% higher, as specialist dairy exporter A2 Milk rose 4.2% and reached a new intraday record a day after it beat earnings expectations.

Medical equipment manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare also ticked up, adding 6.8% after it confirmed a settlement in the long-running patent dispute with its California-based rival ResMed, covering the UK, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

No money was changing hands in the settlement, and neither F&P nore ResMed were admitting liability.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.75% at AUD 1.4063, and the Kiwi retreating 0.47% to NZD 1.4653.