Asia report: Markets mixed, China bourses sink
Markets in Asia finished mixed on Tuesday, with mainland China finishing well into the red as the region took a breather from its recent highs.
AUD/USD
$0.6563
13:02 29/04/24
GBP/NZD
NZD2.0972
13:01 29/04/24
Hang Seng
17,746.91
10:20 29/04/24
Nikkei 225
37,934.76
09:44 26/04/24
USD/JPY
¥155.8720
13:02 29/04/24
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was ahead 1.07% at 22,389.86, as the yen weakened 0.09% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 107.03.
The financials, manufacturing and technology industries all shone in Tokyo, with Fanuc Manufacturing adding 1.81%, Fast Retailing ahead 0.78%, Honda Motor up 2.03% and SoftBank Group 0.7% higher.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite lost 1.14% to close at 3,291.53, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was off 0.34%.
The major banks in China were all down at least 1%, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China falling 3.42%.
South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.06% to end the day at 2,456.14, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 0.73% to 31268.66.
Samsung Electronics was flat, having ascended more than 1% on Tuesday following the launch of its new flagship Galaxy S9 smartphone, while rival chipmaker SK Hynix was ahead 1.55% in Seoul.
Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 0.15% at $67.40 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 0.3% at $63.72.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.24% to 6,056.90, led higher by gains in the financials and materials subindices.
The big four banks were all higher, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group up 0.87% and National Australia Bank rising 0.76%.
Of the major miners, BHP was ahead 0.81% in Sydney, while Rio Tinto added 1.25%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was up 0.2% to 8,360.38, led higher by dairy products producer Synlait, which gained 3.3%.
The company - dwarfed by giant dairy cooperative Fonterra in the local and global markets - announced it had purchased land in Pokeno, just south of Auckland, to build a second milk drying facility.
Both of the down under dollars were weaker, with the Aussie last off 0.17% against the greenback at AUD 1.2754 and the Kiwi retreating 0.32% to NZD 1.3738.