Asia report: Markets mixed as Huawei sues the United States

Markets in Asia finished in a mixed state on Thursday, as investors reacted to a third straight day of losses on Wall Street overnight, and patiently awaited for some news - any news - on the state of trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.65% at 21,456.01, as the yen strengthened 0.04% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 111.72.

The broader Topix index was off 0.84% in Tokyo, to finish its trading day at 1,601.66.

Semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics slid 14.62%, amid reports it was planning to partially suspend production of its chips for as long as two months.

Media reports in Japan suggested that Renesas was considering the move as a response to slowing demand from China.

The Renesas board confirmed the rumours before the end of the day, saying it was planning to close production lines at six of its manufacturing facilities in Japan for up to two months.

Automation and robotics giant Fanuc was also on the losing side of the benchmark, declining 2.8% by end-of-play.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.14% at 3,106.42, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite rose 0.49% to 1,668.53.

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.45% lower at 2,165.79, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 0.89% to 28,779.45.

Sentiment started the day negatively in Asia, after a third session of losses on the trot over the Pacific on Wall Street.

That poor showing in New York came after fresh data released in the US showed the country’s trade deficit rocketing to a 10-year high of $59.8bn for December.

That was despite the controversial strategies of Donald Trump and his administration to bring the figure down.

Traders were hanging out for news on the ongoing trade negotiations between the US and China, with some hoping that the disastrous trade deficit data would be the kick in the pants Washington needed to come to an agreement with Beijing.

Tensions between the world’s two largest economies weren’t helped by the filing of a lawsuit by Chinese telecoms technology giant Huawei in Thursday, however, with the firm suing the US federal government.

It claimed the restrictions placed on it, banning it from selling equipment to government agencies, was unconstitutional.

Oil prices were higher as the region went to bed, with Brent crude last up 0.62% at $66.40 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.71% to $56.62.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.29% to close at 6,263.90, with the hefty financials subindex gaining 0.2%.

The big four banks were in a mixed state on the Sydney bourse, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group falling 0.11%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia losing 0.09%, National Australia Bank rising 0.82%, and Westpac Banking Corporation adding 0.33%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was ahead 0.2% at 9,437.36, led higher by the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund, which was up 2%.

Fonterra - New Zealand’s largest company and one of the world’s major dairy producers - was riding high after a bumper dairy auction earlier in the week, and following the confirmation of a new head of its highly profitable consumer and foodservice division.

The Fonterra Shareholders Fund is a tool which allows farmers, who own Fonterra through a cooperative model, to trade their shareholdings on the open market.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.12% at AUD 1.4203, and the Kiwi advancing 0.08% to NZD 1.4761.