Asian Pacific shares Mixed, Focus on Japanese Financial Services Firm Nomura

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday as investors watched the movement in shares of Japanese financial services firm Nomura following their Monday plunge.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan traded fractionally higher while the Topix index shed 0.91%.

Japan’s retail sales declined 1.5% in February from a year earlier, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. That compared against a median market forecast for a 2.8% decline, according to Reuters.

Shares of Nomura continued to see losses in Tuesday trade as they declined more than 1.5%. The firm’s stock tumbled more than 16% on Monday after the company warned of a “significant loss” at one of its U.S. subsidiaries, resulting from transactions with a client stateside.

Meanwhile, mainland Chinese stocks were higher by the afternoon: The Shanghai composite gained 0.59% while the Shenzhen component rose 1.045%.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.13%. Shares in Australia edged lower as the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.61%.

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MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.51%.

Asian Markets Currencies and oil.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.912 as it largely held on to gains following its rise last week from below the 92 levels.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.93 per dollar, still relatively weaker than levels below 109 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7654, off levels below $0.762 seen in the previous trading week.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as shipping traffic resumed through the Suez Canal after days on hold. Brent crude was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $64.83 a barrel by 0115 GMT, after gaining 0.6% on Monday. U.S. oil was down 1 cent at $61.55 a barrel, having fallen 1% in the previous session.