Asia report: Markets mixed after quiet end to week

Markets in Asia finished mixed on a quiet Friday as investors struggled for direction, with Japanese and Hong Kong benchmarks finishing above the waterline but pared back from earlier gains.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was 0.2% firmer, as the yen strengthened 0.38% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 112.63.

Gains were evident across most sectors in Tokyo, although technology plays were mixed as Nintendo rose 0.09% and Sony added 0.73%.

Carmaker Toyota was off 0.65%, after it said it intended to release an all-electric vehicle to China in 2020.

Reports that Toshiba was looking to offload its personal computing division were quashed by the company, after the Nikkei suggested the beleaguered tech firm was offering it to Asustek Computer.

Its shares finished ahead 1.04%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% at 3,382.34, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite slid 2.78% to 1,954.30.

South Korea’s Kospi was just 0.03% lower at 2,533.99, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong added 0.62% to 29,199.04.

Technology stocks were the winners in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics eking out gains of 0.07% and SK Hynix ahead 0.61%.

Oil prices were higher during Asian trading, with Brent crude alst up 1.16% at $62.08 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate adding 1.48% to $55.97.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 finished ahead 0.23% at 5,957.25.

The country’s competition regulator approved a controversial merger between gambling giants Tatts Group and Tabcorp, so long as Tabcorp offloads its Odyssey Gaming division.

Shares in Tatts finished the session ahead 4.84% and Tatts Group was up 2.33%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 added 0.3% to finish at 8,061.98, led by electricity generators and retailers Mercury and Genesis, which were up 2.7% and 2.3% respectively.

Accounting software giant Xero eked out 0.03%, after its founder and chief executive Rod Drury sold three million shares for NZD 94.5m.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.5% at AUD 1.3245 and the Kiwi retreating 0.86% to NZD 1.4726.