Asia report: Most markets rise after mixed day on Wall Street

Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region experienced mostly positive performance on Tuesday, with Japan's Topix reaching its highest level in three weeks.

Mainland China markets, however, were a notable exception, closing in the red.

“Asian stocks, including Japan's stock market, saw gains on Tuesday despite a mixed day on Wall Street,” said TickMill market analyst Patrick Munnelly.

“There are rumours that the tech sector's rise might be ending.

“US equity contracts increased slightly during Asian trade on Monday, following gains in non-tech US sectors.”

Munnelly noted that Nvidia had experienced a three-day loss of around $430bn.

“Investors in Asia are shifting focus from the technology sector to other areas of the market, with a growing number in Japan buying value stocks like financials.

“This shift is due to the belief that the country's central bank will tighten its policies.”

Most markets in the green, with mainland China the exception

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose by 0.95% to 39,173.15, while the Topix increased by 1.72% to 2,787.37.

Notable gainers on Tokyo’s benchmark included IHI Corporation, which surged by 9.7%, MS & AD Insurance Group, up 5.52%, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, rising 5.22%.

In contrast, mainland Chinese markets ended the day in negative territory.

The Shanghai Composite fell by 0.44% to 2,950.00, and the Shenzhen Component declined by 0.83% to 8,850.29.

Significant losers in Shanghai included China Grand Automotive Services, Orient Group, and Seres Group, each plummeting around 10%.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong edged up by 0.25% to 18,072.90, as China Mengniu Dairy led the gains with a 4.05% rise, followed by Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group at 3.49% and Longfor Properties at 2.33%.

Reuters reported overnight that the Biden administration in the US was investigating three Chinese telecommunications firms over data security concerns.

Despite that, shares of the three companies saw gains in Hong Kong, with China Mobile up 0.68%, China Telecom up 1.81%, and China Unicom up 1.95%.

The Kospi increased 0.35% in Seoul to close at 2,774.39, driven by strong performances from NCsoft, which soared by 7.42%, Coway, up 7.07%, and Hyundai Mobis, which gained 5.25%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed by 1.36% to 7,838.80.

Leading the market were James Hardie Industries, rising 4.57%, GPT Group, up 4.54%, and West African Resources, which added 3.9%.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 rose by 0.76% to 11,716.44, as Port of Tauranga saw a significant gain of 4.49%, followed by Freightways at 2.63% and Meridian Energy at 1.95%.

In currency markets, the dollar was last down 0.08% on the yen to trade at JPY 159.50, as it fell 0.17% against the Aussie to AUD 1.4997, and decreased 0.04% on the Kiwi, changing hands at NZD 1.6320.

Oil prices saw minimal changes, with Brent crude futures last down 0.03% on ICE to $85.98 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate slipping 0.02% to $81.61.

Service price rises slow in Japan, Korean consumer sentiment improves

In economic news, Japan’s services producer price index (SPPI) rose 2.5% year-on-year in May, a slight decrease from the 2.7% increase recorded in April.

Consumer sentiment in South Korea meanwhile improved significantly in June, driven by robust export growth and moderating inflation.

According to the Bank of Korea, the composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) increased by 2.5 points to 100.9, recovering from a decline of 2.3 points in May.

The resurgence in confidence is attributed to an 11.7% year-on-year increase in exports for May, marking the eighth consecutive month of export growth.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.