Asia report: Markets mixed as investors gear up for Xi-Trump meeting
Markets in Asia finished Friday in a mixed state, just the G20 summit kicked off in Argentina, with investors holding their breath for a positive meeting between China’s Xi Jinping and #US president Donald Trump.
AUD/USD
$0.6498
16:26 24/04/24
GBP/NZD
NZD2.0968
16:25 24/04/24
Hang Seng
17,201.27
10:21 24/04/24
Nikkei 225
38,460.08
09:44 24/04/24
USD/JPY
¥154.9660
16:26 24/04/24
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.4% at 22,351.06, as the yen weakened 0.04% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 113.53.
The broader Topix index was ahead 0.48% at 1,667.45.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 0.815 to 2,588.19, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite rose 0.92% to 1,337.74.
Fresh data out of Beijing showed a stoppage in growth for China’s manufacturing sector for the first time in over two years, with the official purchasing managers’ index falling to 50 for November.
That missed market expectations, and was a drop from October’s reading of 50.2.
South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.82% at 2,096.86, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong managed gains of 0.21% to 26,506.75.
The Bank of Korea satiated the expectations of investors on the peninsula, by raising its official interest rate, with analysts saying it was a move intended to re-balance financial risk in the country.
“We think today's hike is similar to its previous hike in [August 2008], likely finishing the normalization process with more policy space ahead of the next potential downturn,” noted analysts at Citi Research.
On the geopolitical front, Donald Trump told media that he was “close” to coming up with some sort of solution to the trade spat with China overnight, but fell short of committing to actually doing something.
“What we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes, so I really don't know,” he told reporters.
Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 1.99% at $58.35 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate losing 3.3% to $49.79.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 1.58% to 5,667.20, with the hefty financials subindex also off 1.58% as most of the country's banks were in the red.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 added 0.3% to 8,823.54, led higher by Synlait Milk, which was ahead 4.9%.
The down under dollars were a mixed picture against the greenback, with the Aussie last 0.24% weaker at AUD 1.3696, and the Kiwi unchanged at NZD 1.4580.