Asia report: Markets mostly higher as traders shrug off hung UK parliament

Markets in Asia finished mostly higher on Friday, as traders focussed their attentions on the UK election resulting in a hung parliament, and the corresponding drop in sterling against most of its currency peers.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.52% at 20,013.26, as the yen weakened against the greenback to last sit 0.4% behind at JPY 110.46.

Telecommunications and technology giant SoftBank rocketed ahead by 7.43%, after news it had acquired two robotics companies from Google parent Alphabet - Boston Dynamics and Schaft.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 0.27% to 3,158.75, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite rose 0.23% to 1,857.17.

South Korea’s Kospi finished 0.77% higher at 2,381.69, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 0.13% to 26,030.29.

Shares in furniture maker Man Wah resumed trading on Friday, regaining their losses from before being suspended on Wednesday when Carson Block announced he was targeting the firm for a short.

The company issued a statement calling Block’s accusations “false” and “groundless”.

At home, Theresa May’s Conservative Party failed to win a majority after the snap general election she called seven weeks ago, which raised concerns over the future of Brexit negotiations during the Asian session.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had called for her resignation and offered the prospect of forming a minority government with other opposition parties.

Since Asian markets went to bed, however, May had confirmed she would be attempting to form a minority government herself with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland.

“The possibility of a reduced Conservative majority or event a minority government is unlikely to have a significant impact on broader global markets,” noted CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner on the apparent shrugging off of the UK election result around the world.

Oil prices were lower during Asian trading, with Brent crude last down 0.21% at $47.76 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 0.22% at $45.54.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.02% at 5,677.80, while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 fell 0.3% to 7,436.10.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.2% at AUD 1.3278 and the Kiwi retreating 0.18% to NZD 1.3887.