Asia report: Markets quiet after Brussels attacks

All was quiet on the Asian front on Wednesday, with trading quiet and stocks mostly lower, but showing resilience in the wake of the Brussels attacks.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.28% to close at 17,000.98.

The yen let go of its stranglehold on the 111 mark against the greenback in late trading, and was last 0.28% weaker at JPY 112.68 per dollar.

Japan’s exporters were mixed, with Toyota up 0.13%, while Nissan and Honda were down by 1.06% and 1.26% respectively.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index managed to claw back above the psychologically important 3,000 mark, closing up 0.35% at 3,009.96. The smaller Shenzhen Composite finished up 1.16% to 1,902.53, while the ChiNext rose 1.68% to 2,259.11.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.25% to close at 20,615.23. Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.08% to 1,995.12.

Like their European mates, Asian markets largely brushed off the series of deadly explosions in Brussels on Tuesday. The bombings at Belgium’s largest airport and at the Maalbeek metro station killed at least 31 people and left hundreds injured.

Analysts noted that risk appetite was initially muted by the attacks, with safe havens such as the Japanese yen rallying, while equities and emerging currencies lost out.

"However, many of these moves were later reversed, showing investor sentiment to be relatively unflappable given support from central bank easing," said Mizuho Bank FX stategist Wei Liang Chang.

Oil was back from earlier highs, but still firmly at the $41 mark after Asian trading. Brent crude was last down 0.34% to $41.65, while West Texas Intermediate lost 0.49% to $41.25.

A report from American Petroleum Institute suggested US crude stockpiles rose by almost nine million barrels last week to reach 532 million.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.47% to finish at 5,142.30, weighed down by losses in financials and energy, down 0.4% and 1.08% respectively.

Of the energy stocks, Santos was off 0.76% and Woodside Petroleum lost 0.88%. Mining stocks were also mostly lower on the Sydney bourse, with BHP Billiton down 1.68%, Fortescue slipping 4.36% and Rio Tinto closing flat.

New Zealand’s run as Asia’s golden child continued, with the S&P/NZX 50 rising 0.1% to a fresh record high of 6,668.87. The benchmark had gained 7% in March, more than regaining the losses it saw at the beginning of 2016 amid a global new year slowdown.

In currencies, the Aussie spent most of late Asian trading pulling back from the greenback, and was last 0.38% weaker at AUD 1.3171 per USD. The Kiwi dipped into stronger territory for a brief period, but spent much of the day pulling back from its US counterpart and was last off 0.71% to NZD 1.4913.