Asia report: Trump's hot air sees markets finish mixed
Markets in Asia were mixed on Thursday, with Japanese shares falling as the yen strengthened against a Trumped-down dollar.
The Nikkei 225 was down 1.19% at 19,134.70, while the yen strengthened against the greenback.
It was last ahead 1.06% at JPY 114.19 per $1.
Mayonnaise giant Kewpie went against the grain and surged 4.56%, after it told traders it expects a 10.7% rise in operating profit for the full year to November.
As a result, the condiment conglomerate will raise dividends JPY 1.5 to JPY 36 per share.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was off 0.55% at 3,119.63, while the Shenzhen Composite was off 0.87% at 1,951.30.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.58% at 2,087.14, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished 0.46% lower at 22,829.02.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics was up 1.36% while Samsung C&T rose 1.59%, suggesting investors were unperturbed by reports that Samsung Group chief Jay Lee was being questioned by special prosecutors over the presidential corruption scandal.
US President-elect Donald Trump held his first proper press conference since he was elected in November on Wednesday, though he supplied little in the way of clarity to the markets when it comes to his policies.
“Trump made a couple references to 'making America great again' but there was no detail on infrastructure spending, corporate tax reform, personal income tax cuts, the prospects for deregulation or the possibility of another tax repatriation holiday,” read a note from Westpac Global Strategy Group.
Oil prices were lower during earlier Asian trading, but they turned around as the sun rose on Europe, with Brent crude last uo 0.92% at $55.61 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.65% at $52.59.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.08% to close at 5,766.85, with the healthcare subindex reflecting losses in the US health sector on Wednesday.
Biotechnology company CSL was off 2.8%, and Mayne Pharma Group finished down 4.14%.
Trading was still quiet across the Tasman Sea as New Zealanders spent their summer holiday at the beach, with the S&P/NZX 50 dropping 0.1% to 7,063.59.
It was led lower by former monopoly telco Spark, which lost 3.4%, with oil processor New Zealand Refining the best performer, adding 2.6%.
The down under dollars were both stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie advancing 0.79% to AUD 1.3332, and the Kiwi strengthening 0.83% to NZD 1.4056 per $1.