Santa's cheer uneven across Asian markets

Traders had the Buck's Fizz out early in Australia on Thursday, as the markets down under closed a short Christmas Eve trading day with a last-minute Santa rally.

The S&P/ASX 200 rode the coat-tails of the commodities rally in the US, closing up 1.3% to 5,207 points - the seventh consecutive day of gains in Sydney.

Mining and oil company BHP Billiton saw its shares surge 5.34% during the truncated session, closing at AUD$18.34 (£8.97).

New Zealand's star performer in December - A2 Milk - led Wellington's S&P/NZX 50 to a new record. It rounded off two straight weeks of gains up 0.5% to 6,225.54, while A2 Milk was up 9.4% to NZD$1.97 (£0.90).

Hong Kong closed early for the holiday as well, with the Hang Seng finishing at midday local time 0.4% higher at 22,138. The index led into Christmas with a gain every day this week.

Just after 0900 GMT, oil was continuing its gradual climb away from its historic lows. Brent was up 0.823% to $37.67 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate remained ahead of its London cousin, up 0.715% to $37.77.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index missed out on the Christmas cheer, closing down 0.65% to 3,612.49. It was down by as much as 1.4% earlier in the day.

Beijing regulators moved to put a damper on the insurance buying frenzy that had ruled the markets in recent days, announcing late on Wednesday that insurance firms would need to disclose any plans to buy stakes of up to 5% in listed firms, and their funding sources.

"The regulator wants to prevent systematic risks in the stock market", said Zhu Bin, an analyst at Southwest Securities.

After the announcement, Gemdale Corporation lost 8.98% and Financial Street Holding slipped 6.01%.

The Kospi was up slightly in Seoul, by 0.2% to 2,003 points, with Hyundai Motor leading the gains. Shares in the carmaker were up by 0.6%, as rumours that management would be able to reach a new wage deal with the union swirled.

It's understood union members would cast a vote on Monday 28 December, having been on a partial stop-work for two weeks.

Tokyo succumbed to the Grinch, with the Nikkei 225 closing down 0.5% to 18,789. It had opened above 19,000 points.

The losses stemmed from one company in particular - airbag manufacturer Takata - which closed down 4.8% after US safety regulators reported an eighth American fatality from a faulty Takata airbag inflator.

Nine people have died worldwide from the faulty inflators - installed in Honda vehicles - though the latest fatality was the first since April 2015.

There was some data out of Japan too - the Bank of Japan released its November monetary policy meeting minutes. They reflected the central bank's confidence in the Japanese economy's "moderate" recovery, though concern was expressed at the slowdown in emerging economies putting the pressure on exports and production.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet also approved a record 2016 budget on Thursday, with anticipated higher tax revenue being a significant feature to underpin Abe's slump-busting promises.

Total spending was slated to reach JPY 96.72trn (£539bn) from 1 April 2016, with defence spending hitting a record JPY 5.05trn.

On the currency markets, the yen was down 0.47% against the greenback to JPY 120.35. One USD was worth AUD$1.3746 and NZD$1.4662. The yuan renminbi lost ground as well, down 0.02% to CNY 6.4764 against the greenback.