Asia markets lost momentum on Wednesday, after a mixed finish in the U.S. as investors digested second-quarter earnings.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.64 percent, after finishing the Tuesday session at a six-week high. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was off by 0.19 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 0.84 percent.
Chinese mainland markets traded mixed, with the Shanghai composite near flat at 3,035.87, while the Shenzhen composite gained 0.41 percent.
Australia's ASX 200 traded up 0.61 percent, with the materials sub-index lagging, down 1.40 percent. Miners remained in focus on the broader index as they released production reports.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.64 percent, after finishing the Tuesday session at a six-week high. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was off by 0.19 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 0.84 percent.
Chinese mainland markets traded mixed, with the Shanghai composite near flat at 3,035.87, while the Shenzhen composite gained 0.41 percent.
Australia's ASX 200 traded up 0.61 percent, with the materials sub-index lagging, down 1.40 percent. Miners remained in focus on the broader index as they released production reports.
Symbol
|
Name
|
Price
|
Change
|
%Change
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIKKEI | NIKKEI | 16685.52 | -37.79 | -0.23% | |
| HSI | HSI | 21863.20 | 190.00 | 0.88% | |
| ASX 200 | S&P/ASX 200 | 5479.60 | 28.35 | 0.52% | |
| SHANGHAI | Shanghai | 3035.79 | -0.81 | -0.03% | |
| KOSPI | KOSPI Index | 2012.60 | -4.29 | -0.21% | |
| CNBC 100 | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | 6533.41 | 19.70 | 0.30% |
BHP Billiton released its production numbers for the fourth quarter and year ended June 30 and gave guidance for fiscal 2017, saying that Q4 iron ore production came in at 55,626 kilo tons (KT), down 7 percent on-year. Copper production was at 413 KT in Q4, down 5 percent on-year.
For fiscal 2017, BHP said it expected between 228 metric tons (MT) and 237 MT of iron ore production, excluding production from its Samarco mine, which was the site of a major dam-burst in Brazil in 2015.
BHP shares were down 3.03 percent, after narrowly missing analysts' expectations as a result of the Samarco disaster, which caused the mine to shut down. Other major miners were also lower, with Rio Tinto down 1.94 percent and Fortescue off 0.99 percent.
"Inklings of concern about China's support for its industrial sector are starting to hit metals prices, and commodity-linked sectors are exerting the biggest drag on equity indices globally," said Angus Nicholson, a market analyst at brokerage firm IG.
Shanghai steel rebar futures were mostly lower, but the August contract traded up 0.71 percent. Iron ore futures in Dalian traded lower, with the September contract down some 1.87 percent.
Nintendo shares took a 16.57 percent tumble on Wednesday, halting its impressive winning streak since the wildly popular "Pokemon Go" mobile app was released on July 6.
Technology news portal TechCrunch said the highly anticipated launch of the app in Japan, the birth place of Pokemon, has been delayed, after a previous report said the app was set to go live on Wednesday.
TechCrunch, citing sources, said game-maker Niantic decided to postpone the roll out of "Pokemon Go" in Japan after internal communication detailing the launch from McDonald's Japan, the game's sponsor, were leaked on the internet.
In the currency market, the dollar traded higher against a basket of currencies at 97.083, up from levels near 96.00 last week.
"The outperformance of the U.S. economy, safety of U.S. assets and steady monetary policy makes American investments attractive and keeps the dollar in demand," said Kathy Lien, managing director for foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management.
"We continue to look for the dollar to outperform, with further losses expected for many major currencies," she said.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.93 against the greenback, off an earlier session low of 106.25. The yen has weakened considerably from levels near 100 two weeks earlier, with the market anticipating upcoming fiscal and monetary stimulus from Japan.
The Australian dollar traded at $0.7502, down from Monday's level over $0.76, likely due to fresh concerns over China, said experts.
"Detailed Chinese GDP data underlined how much stimulus and credit to the industrial and construction sectors bailed out a weakening economy. This is not good news for the Aussie dollar," Nicholson said.
Oil prices advanced during Asian hours, with global benchmark Brent up 0.30 percent at $46.80 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures added 0.31 percent at $44.79.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 26 points, or 0.14 percent, at 18,559.01. The S&P 500 dropped 3.11 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,163.78, while the Nasdaq composite finished 19.41 points lower, or 0.38 percent, to 5,036.37.
No comments:
Post a Comment