Asia report: Markets mixed as quarterly reports pour in

Markets in Asia were mixed on Monday, with a number of quarterly report cards giving traders plenty to mull over for October’s penultimate session as the Bank of Japan began its two-day meeting.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was ahead just 0.01% at 22,011.67, as the yen strengthened 0.2% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 113.65.

Fresh data showed retail sales in Japan improved 2.2% year-on-year in September, missing the 2.5% improvement forecast in a Reuters poll.

On the corporate front, technology plays were mixed in Tokyo with Sharp ahead 0.83%, while Yahoo Japan slid 4.7%.

Kobe Steel was up 2.22% after it said it was preparing to withdraw its estimate for full-year income, as well as forgoing its interim dividend in the wake of its product data falsification scandal.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.77% at 3,390.59, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite lost 1.73% to finish at 1,988.48.

South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.21% at 2,501.93, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.36% softer at 28,336.19.

Oil and technology stocks were the winners of the day in Seoul, with S-Oil up 0.39% and SK Hynix rising 1.79%, while Samsung Electronics shot ahead 1.81% ahead of its earnings release on Tuesday.

Investors are expecting a record quarterly profit from the technology giant.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering closed down 13.39%, having earlier plunged more than 25%, after it finally returned to trade from a lengthy suspension from the Korean bourse.

Chinese carmaker BYD was down almost 3% in afternoon trading in Hong Kong, after it revealed over the weekend that it expected profit to shrink by up to 20% as competition in the electric and hybrid car markets heated up.

Attention was also turned stateside as investors looked for clues as to who President Trump would select as the next Federal Reserve chair.

Reports over the weekend suggested he favoured Fed governor Jerome Powell, with his decision expected to be made public sometime this week.

Oil prices were steady during Asian trade, with Brent crude last up 0.08% at $60.49 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate ahead 0.09% at $53.95.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.27% to close at 5,919.08, led higher by a number of energy stocks.

Santos was ahead 3.68% while Woodside Petroleum was 1.34% firmer.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 notched gains of 0.7% to 8,143.98, led higher by major exporters including Scales Corporation, Synlait and A2 Milk, which were ahead 4.6%, 3.5% and 1.7% respectively on sustained weakness in the New Zealand dollar.

Both of those down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.1% at AUD 1.3037 and the Kiwi retreating .34% to NZD 1.4591.