Asia report: Markets mixed as Nikkei pushes higher

Markets across the Asia-Pacific region finished with a mixed pattern on Monday, as Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged to a fresh high after traders returned from a long weekend. Conversely, markets in mainland China snapped their nine-day winning streak.

“Asian markets were relatively flat for the most part overnight, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly touched another record high in early trading following a holiday on Friday,” said Interactive Investor head of markets Richard Hunter.

“The weakness of the yen and the apparent lack of viable alternatives in the region have led to a surge of buying interest, although the main Chinese stocks have shown some signs of recovery of late, mainly predicated on hopes of more aggressive stimulus from the authorities.

“The strength of the Nikkei has been achieved despite the country being in technical recession, once more underlining the often-noted difference between the market and the economy.”

Markets mixed as Japan’s main board reaches fresh high

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.35% to reach 39,233.71, accompanied by a 0.49% increase in the Topix index, closing at 2,673.62.

Leading the gains on Tokyo’s benchmark was Chugai Pharmaceutical, which saw a significant increase of 6.37%, followed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Toto, which rose by 4.44% and 4.3% respectively.

Contrastingly, China's Shanghai Composite index declined by 0.93%, closing at 2,977.02, while the Shenzhen Component experienced a marginal decrease of 0.04% to settle at 9,066.09.

The biggest losers in Shanghai included Chongqing Water Group, which faced a decline of 6.17%, and Beijing Haohua Energy Resource, which rose by 5.13%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index retreated by 0.54% to 16,634.74, with Budweiser Brewing Company, Li Ning Co, and China Hongqiao Group seeing declines of 4.5%, 4.07%, and 2.87% respectively.

South Korea's Kospi index declined by 0.77% to reach 2,647.08, with LG and SK Holdings experiencing respective downturns of 7.49% and 6.76%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index exhibited a modest gain of 0.12%, closing at 7,652.80.

Notable performers in Australia included Liontown Resources and Summerset Group, which rose by 8.37% and 7.66%, respectively.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index saw a slight decrease of 0.09% to settle at 11,709.89.

The losses in Wellington were led by Heartland Group, which faced a decline of 7.14%, and Eroad, which declined by 3.53%.

Currency markets saw minor fluctuations, with the dollar last 0.09% stronger on the yen to trade at JPY 150.64, while it rose 0.2% against the Aussie to AUD 1.5269, and 0.35% against the Kiwi to change hands at NZD 1.6192.

In oil markets, Brent crude futures were last down 0.36% on ICE at $81.33 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate saw a downturn of 0.29% to $76.27.

Producer price growth slows in Japan

In economic news, fresh official data showed that Japan's services producer price index (PPI) experienced a smaller year-over-year increase in January compared to the prior month.

The services PPI rose by 2.1% in January, a decrease from the 2.4% increase recorded in December.

It saw a decline of 0.5% in January from December.

In South Korea, the financial regulatory body announced measures aimed at improving corporate governance on Monday.

Taking inspiration from Japan's strategies, South Korea's Financial Services Commission unveiled its ‘Corporate Value-up Programme’, designed to bolster the country's undervalued stock markets and address the so-called ‘Korea discount’.

The programme was designed to prioritise shareholder returns through various incentives, including tax benefits.

As part of its efforts, the FSC said it intended to introduce the ‘Korea Value-up Index’ tailored for institutional investors, such as pension funds, to further support these objectives.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.