Asian Markets Mixed; Shenzhen Down 1.03%, Hang Seng Rises 0.13%.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday as some major markets in the region, including Hong Kong and Singapore, closed early for Christmas Eve.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.13% on the day to close at 23,223.76. Mainland Chinese stocks, on the other hand, closed lower. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.69% to 3,618.05 while the Shenzhen component dipped 1.033% to 14,710.33.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed fractionally lower at 28,782.59 while the Topix index declined 0.13% to 1,986.78. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.48% to finish the trading day at 3,012.43.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.44% to close at 7,420.30. Over in Southeast Asia, Singapore’s Straits Times index closed 0.37% higher at 3,108.28.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan edged 0.06% higher.

Overnight stateside, major averages rose for a third day on Thursday as investors looked past earlier jitters about the spread of the omicron Covid variant. The S&P 500 rose 0.62% to close at a new record of 4,725.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 196.67 points to 35,950.56 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.85% to 15,653.37.

U.S. markets are closed on Friday for the Christmas holiday.

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Asian Markets Currencies & Oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, sat at 96.019 following its slide earlier this week from around 96.6.

The Japanese yen traded at 114.38 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 113.5 seen earlier in the week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7234, having risen from levels below $0.714 earlier this week.

Oil prices slipped in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.46% to $76.50 per barrel.