Asia report: Most markets higher after US crude surge
Markets in Asia finished mostly higher on Wednesday, after a surge in oil prices overnight and a strong showing on the New York indexes on Tuesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.1% at 17,862.21 points, with the yen remaining at weaker levels against the greenback.
It was last 0.33% weaker at JPY 109.56 per $1.
Gaming giant Nintendo saw its shares jump 2.78%, after it confirmed it will release its Super Mario Run mobile game on 15 December.
Investors have had a tenuous relationship with Nintendo this year, rewarding the firm for its runaway success of the Pokemon Go mobile game, but punishing its stock harshly when it revealed its upcoming ‘Switch’ console.
Oil major Inpex was up 2.96% as crude prices surged.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.05% at 3,205.41, with the Shenzhen Composite 0.02% in the green at 2,124.85.
The People’s Bank of China lowered its renminbi reference point for the ninth day in a row, setting it at CNY 6.8592 per $1, compared to a CNY 6.8565 close on Tuesday.
Beijing allows the onshore yuan to trade 2% either side of its loose peg.
Shares in online conglomerate Leshi Internet Information & Technology had a tumultuous day - it rose almost 5% on news it had secured more than $600m financial support for its high-tech and automotive operations.
The company - better known as LeEco - finished down 0.36% in Shenzhen.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished down 0.19% at 22,280.53, while South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.62% at 1,979.65.
“Southbound funds flowing into Hong Kong stock market, via the Hong Kong-Shanghai link have accelerated over the last two days, showing rising interest from mainland investors after the recent sell-off,” noted CMC Markets market analyst Margaret Yang.
“Trading activities will probably pick up anticipating the launch of Hong Kong-Shenzhen link this month.”
In Seoul, Hyundai Heavy Industries surged 4.78% after it announced plans to spin off its assets and operations not related to shipbuilding.
The sea shipping industry in Asia - and particularly in Korea - has come under pressure in recent months as demand tails off and shippers find themselves with too much capacity.
Oil prices rallied on Tuesday, reaching almost 6% higher late in US trading, as investors pinned their hopes on an OPEC production cut deal.
Crude prices were higher during Asian trading, though they did begin to fall as Europe took the baton.
Brent crude was last down 0.54% at $46.70 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate lost 0.84% at $45.43.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was near flat, adding 0.03% to close at 5,327.70.
The energy subindex was up 2.34%, but that was partially offset by a 1.11% fall in the materials sector.
Of the major oil players, Oil Search was up 3.35% and Santos added 1.5%.
In New Zealand, markets continues to brush off the ongoing aftershocks from Sunday night’s deadly earthquakes, with the S&P/NZX 50 adding 0.8% to 6,824.57.
The index was led by crude processor New Zealand Refining, which was up 4.8%.
Economic concerns were beginning to surface in the wake of the earthquake, however, with the highway and railway network through northern parts of the Canterbury region leaving many towns and the major city of Christchurch cut off from national supply chains.
State transport operator KiwiRail said it was working with the Port of Lyttelton in Christchurch to investigate the possibility of running its interisland passenger and freight ships from the capital Wellington direct to the southern city, negating the need to cross the quake-ravaged areas.
The main shock, felt around midnight local time on Sunday evening, was upgraded to a magnitude 7.8 from a 7.5 by Geological and Nuclear Science after data was reviewed on Wednesday.
Both of the down under dollars were weaker, with the Kiwi last off 0.31% at NZD 1.4124 against the greenback and the Aussie 0.64% weaker at AUD 1.3314 per $1.