Asia report: Markets mixed as Abe meets Trump
Markets in Asia finished mixed on Friday, with Japan putting in a stellar performance as its domestic markets finished on an 11-month high as the yen retreated to much weaker levels.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.59% at 17,967.41, which was its highest close since 6 January, while the broader Topix added 0.38% to settle at 1,428.46.
It was a weaker day for the yen, which was last 0.45% weaker at JPY 110.61, having been around the 108 level per $1 on Thursday.
The major Japanese exporters saw their shares rise, with Honda up 0.98%, Mazda adding 3.77%, Nissan 1.71% higher and Toyota stock 2.68% firmer.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with US President-elect Donald Trump in New York on Thursday, though little detail was released to satiate investor appetites.
Abe did say after the meeting that he had confidence he could build trust in Trump, though he avoided disclosing the topics of the talks by describing the meeting as unofficial.
Analysts were quick to suggest the Trans-Pacific Partnership was on the agenda, with the 12-member agreement already ratified by Japan and others, but Trump promising not to ratify it while campaigning ahead of the election.
“Lack of details on the hour-long 'frank' discussions suggests that none of the uncertainties around TPP and U.S. engagement have been resolved,” noted Mizuho Bank’s Vishnu Varathan.
“There is a sense that 'Abenomics' and 'Trump-onomics' need not be mutually exclusive.”
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.47% to finish at 3,193.27.
South Korea’s Kospi was off 0.3% at the close, to finish at 1,974.58, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.37% at 22,344.21.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics was ahead of the benchmark, finishing 1.15% higher.
Oil prices were down during Asian trading, with Brent crude last off 0.5% at $46.26 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.91% at $45.01.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 finished up 0.39% at 5,359.40, led higher by the hefty financials subindex which was ahead 0.45%.
Gold and energy were the losers of the day, with those subindexes off 3.17% and 0.05% respectively.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was up 0.6% at 6,857.85, with local analysts saying they’re starting to see bargain hunters enter the market after a period of declines for the benchmark.
It was led higher by airport operator AIAL, which added 3.3%.
The company’s stock slipped earlier in the week amid concerns that a depression in tourism would arise from Sunday night’s deadly and destructive earthquakes, leading to a downturn at the country’s largest airport in Auckland.
It was a mixed picture for the down under dollars, with the Kiwi last 0.09% stronger at NZD 1.4222 after spending much of the session sharply weaker against the greenback while the Aussie was 0.47% weaker at AUD 1.3563 per $1.