Asia report: Markets mixed on light trading day as oil falls

Markets in Asia finished mixed on Monday, as falling crude oil prices dragged down the energy sector - particularly in Australia.

Mainland China markets returned for the first time in more than a week, having been closed for five days last week for the Golden Week of public holidays.

The Shanghai Composite was up 1.45% at the close, at 3,048.14, while the Shenzhen Composite finished 1.89% higher at 2,033.38.

South Korea’s Kospi finished 0.15% higher at 2,056.82, while markets in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan were closed for public holidays.

Samsung Electronics shares fell 1.52%, as its smartphone saga continued with the news it will temporarily suspend production of the Galaxy Note 7 model.

The phone was subject to a worldwide recall in late September, after a number of reports of the devices spontaneously combusting, however it now appeared the replacement devices - designed not to catch fire so easily - were at least as susceptible to battery fires as the original model.

Singapore-listed Noble Group was up 6.77% by the close, as it announced it will sell its US energy division to Calpine in a deal worth $1.05bn.

The commodities trader has faced a tough year, with shares down by almost a third in the year so far.

Traders in Japan had swapped their suits for short shorts for Health and Sports Day, while Hong Kong investors relaxed for the day after the Chung Yeung Festival and in Taiwan, they celebrated the country’s National Day.

The yen was relatively weaker against the greenback, and was last off 0.16% at JPY 103.14 per $1.

Oil prices were down overnight and throughout the Asian trading day, with Brent crude last down 0.45% at $51.70 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.63% at $49.50.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.15% to 5,475.40, with the weighty financials subindex adding 0.47% and materials up 0.4%.

The energy subindex, however, was off 0.81%, keeping the benchmark’s gains grounded.

Of the major energy players in the sunburnt country, Oil Search lost 1.46%, Origin Energy slipped 1.07% and Santos fell 2.82%.

Macquarie Group shares were up 0.26% after reports that the Australian investor was in high-level negotiations to acquire the Green Investment Bank.

Shares in Australian Mines surged 54.55% after reports of a raft of project acquisitions either in the pipeline, or set to be closed.

Engineering contractor CIMIC Group announced it will offer AUD 3.15 per share to buy out the rest of UGL - a 47.2% premium on Friday’s closing price.

UGL shares had been sent spiralling downwards in recent months after it issued a profit warning in June, following delays at a large oil and gas project.

New Zealand shares fell for the fifth straight session, reaching close to a quarterly low, with the S&P/NZX 50 losing 0.7% to 7,116.93.

Airport operator AIAL was the worst performer, losing 3.3%, bringing its total losses for the year-to-date to 21%.

The down under dollars were mixed, with the Aussie last 0.03% stronger at AUD 1.3175 against the greenback and the Kiwi 0.39% weaker at NZD 1.3999 per $1.