Asia report: Markets mostly lower after oil price slide

Markets in Asia were mostly lower on Tuesday, with investor sentiment heading south as oil prices sank and the Dow pulled further away from the 20,000 mark overnight.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.79% to settle at 19,301.44, with domestic stocks weakening as the yen mustered strength against the dollar.

It was last 0.07% stronger at JPY 115.95 per $1.

Carmaker Toyota watched its shares lose 1%, after its North America chief executive Jim Lentz said overnight that the company was to invest $10bn over the next five years in the US

That money would be used to upgrade production plants, and invest in more fuel-efficient models.

Toyota had been under fire from President-elect Donald Trump on Twitter recently, after it switched the location of its North American Corolla production to Mexico from Canada.

Lentz assured media assembled at the Detroit Auto Show that this latest round of investment in the country was part of its planned business strategy, and not in response to the tweet.

Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 0.02%, paring back gains of more than 1.3%.

It emerged overnight that the firm was taking over US-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals in a $5.2bn deal.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.29% at 3,161.89, while the Shenzhen Composite lost 0.24% to settle at 1,989.28.

Consumer inflation was up 2.1% year-on-year in the People’s Republic for the December quarter, fresh data revealed, though that was just shy of a Reuters-polled forecast for a 2.3% rise.

Producer prices leapt 5.5%, well ahead of the 4.5% forecast, and keeping momentum of producer price rises at the highest pace since late 2011.

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.18% lower at 2,045.12, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.83% at 22,744.85.

In Seoul, reports emerged that electronics conglomerates LG and Samsung were considering building US factories in a bid to appease the protectionist tendencies of Trump.

Both firms are expected to reveal investment plans for the US before the new president is inaugurated on 20 January.

Samsung shares managed to eke out a 0.05% gain, while LG’s stock sank 3.36%.

In Hong Kong, founder of Chinese retailer Intime Retail Group Shen Guo Jun announced he was teaming up with Alibaba Group to take the department store operator private for HKD 10 per share.

Oil prices plunged lower during US trading overnight, with that momentum continuing through Asian hours, though things did pick up again as the sun rose on Europe.

Brent crude was last up 0.58% at $55.26 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate added 0.61% to $52.28.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.8% at 5,760.70, with all subindexes losing out apart from gold, which managed to finish the day 1.43% firmer.

Fresh data showed retail prices in the sunburnt country rose 0.2% in November, compared to October - missing the 0.4% market consensus forecast.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.4% to finish at 7,037.58, with trading still quiet during the country’s summer period.

It was led higher by Contact Energy, which raced ahead 2.3%, while airport operator AIAL was 2% higher.

The down under dollars were mixed, with the Kiwi last 0.27% weaker against the greenback at NZD 1.4292, and the Aussie strengthening 0.04% to AUD 1.3592 per $1.