Asia report: Markets mixed as Bellamy's extends trading suspension

Markets in Asia were mixed on Wednesday, losing some lustre towards the end of the session after surging on the back of a stellar run from the Dow overnight, which came within spitting distance of the psychological 20,000 level.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.26% to finish at 19,444.49, though it did touch a one-year high during the session.

The yen was stronger on the greenback, and was last ahead by 0.33% at JPY 117.47 per $1.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.15% to 3,138.54 and the Shenzhen Composite tacked on 0.74% to settle at 1,996.03.

South Korea’s Kospi was also down, dropping 0.19% to 2,037.96, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.37% at 21,809.80.

Samsung Securities took a 4.91% nosedive, after it revealed it was going to issue KRW 345bn in new shares.

In Taiwan, the Taiex was 0.41% lower at 9,204.26, with electronics conglomerate Acer dipping 0.75%.

It had announced late on Tuesday that it was suspending its smartphone operations in India as a result of that government’s recent demonetisation policy, and proposed a TWD 35.4bn share buyback programme.

“It's a good day to be an equity bull however, it's a slow grind higher as opposed to an explosion in demand and the moves we are seeing in many markets are fairly subdued,” noted IG chief market analysts Chris Weston and Angus Nicholson.

Crude prices were up, with Brent crude up 0.41% at $55.58 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.45% to $53.54.

The rises followed fresh data released from the American Petroleum Institute, suggesting crude stockpiles in the country fell 4.1 million barrels last week, much more than a Reuters-polled forecast for a 2.5 million barrel uptick.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to finish at 5,613.47, with gold and materials leading the charge - those subindexes were up 1.37% and 1.21% respectively.

Bellamy’s Australia requested an extension to its already week-long suspension on Wednesday, saying it was still in talks with manufacturers and suppliers.

“The fact that this situation has gone on for so long and that negotiations with suppliers are under way suggests that there may be material issues with the company,” noted CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner.

Bellamy’s Australia last traded at AUD 6.68.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 was up 0.2% to 6,802.75 at the close, led higher by dairy exporter A2 Milk.

The company was doing its best to play down industry concerns surround the suspension of Bellamy’s shares across the Tasman Sea, with Bellamy’s being one of A2 Milk’s main rivals.

A2 Milk stock was up 5.9% on Wednesday, having fallen as much as 15% after Bellamy’s suspension came into effect last Monday.

Both of the downunder dollars were marginally weaker, with the Aussie last off 0.08% at AUD 1.3786 against the greenback, and the Kiwi retreating 0.01% at NZD 1.4462 per $1.