Asia report: Markets mixed amid reports of trade talk progress
Markets in Asia finished in a mixed state on Monday, as investors spent the session reacting to the latest progress in trade negotiations between the US and China, and had their first chance to react to fresh data out of Washington on Friday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.21% at 21,761.65, as the yen strengthened 0.25% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 111.45.
The broader Topix index was off 0.35% as markets closed in Tokyo, settling at 1,620.14.
Of the heavyweight stocks on the benchmark index, automation specialist Fanuc was down 0.74%, fashion retail group Fast Retailing was 0.38% higher, and technology conglomerate SoftBank was 0.41% lower.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was 0.05% lower at 3,244.81, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite slid 0.55% to 1,770.20.
South Korea’s Kospi eked out gains of 0.04% to close at 2,210.60, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.47% higher at 30,077.15.
Korean Air Lines was ahead 1.88% in Seoul, and Hanjin Transportation was 15.12%, after the death of Cho Yang-ho, who was chairman of both companies.
Cho was booted from the board of Korea Air Lines several weeks ago, after he was charged with embezzlement and breach of trust last year.
He consistently denied the charges.
Hanjin KAL - the division of the Hanjin chaebol, or family conglomerate, that is related to both Korea Air Lines and Hanjin Transportation - was ahead 20.63%.
Investors spent the early part of the session sifting through data from the US, which was released on Friday, after that country’s economy added 196,000 jobs in the month of March.
That was ahead of consensus expectations for 175,000 new jobs, and helped quell fears for a slowdown in the labour market.
“With the most recent payrolls data, the positive, non-inflationary growth story continues for the US,” noted analysts at ANZ Research.
Market watchers were also lifted by reports from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that “new progress” had been made in trade talks between Beijing and Washington.
Oil prices were higher as the region went to bed, with Brent crude last up 0.45% at $70.66 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rising 0.47% to $63.38.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.65% to end the day at 6,221.40, with almost all subindices in the green in Sydney.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was down 0.5% at 9,807.08, led lower by retirement property group Summerset, which was off 4.9%.
The down under dollars were mixed but little-changed against the greenback, with the Aussie last 0.01% weaker at AUD 1.4076, and the Kiwi strengthening 0.03% to NZD 1.4847.