Stocks in Asia-Pacific wee mostly higher on Friday as investors watched regional technology stock movements following a decline in the sector stateside.
Mainland Chinese stocks were higher by their close, with the Shanghai composite up 0.79% to around 3,260.35 while the Shenzhen component rose 1.57% to about 12,942.95. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.95%, as of its final hour of trading.
Elsewhere, Japanese stocks saw gains on the day, as the Nikkei 225 rose 0.74% to 23,406.49 while the Topix index advanced 0.72% to 1,636.64. South Korea’s Kospi finished its trading day little changed at 2,396.69.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.83% to close at 5,859.40. Shares of major miner Rio Tinto dipped 0.59% after the firm announced its chief executive will be stepping down “by mutual agreement.” That came following a board-led review over the legal destruction of historically significant Aboriginal rock-shelters, according to Reuters. Other major miners saw larger downward moves, with Fortescue Metals Group down about 3.07% while BHP fell 1.16%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index added 0.39%.
Technology shares regionally were mixed in Friday trade, after their counterparts on Wall Street slipped overnight amid a recent downward trend.
In Japan, shares of conglomerate Softbank Group were up 1.03% while Sharp dropped 1.57%. Over in South Korea, industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw its stock slip 0.34%. SK Hynix, on the other hand, advanced 2.35%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent rose 2.27% while Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation jumped 6.03%.
Overnight stateside, the major stock averages stateside saw losses on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.89, or 1.45%, to 27,534.58. The S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 3,339.19 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% to 10,919.59.
Meanwhile, geopolitical developments also likely weighed on investor sentiment, amid a recent rise in tensions between the U.K. and EU.
“Its looking more and more like (U.K.) Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push for a hard Brexit,” Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, wrote in a Sept. 10 note.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.245 after an earlier high of 93.352.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.15 per dollar after changing hands at levels below 105.9 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7289 after touching an earlier low of $0.7249.
Oil prices were mixed in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.15% to $40.00 per barrel. U.S. crude futures hovered above the flatline, trading at $37.31 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.245 after an earlier high of 93.352.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.15 per dollar after changing hands at levels below 105.9 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7289 after touching an earlier low of $0.7249.
Oil prices were mixed in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.15% to $40.00 per barrel. U.S. crude futures hovered above the flatline, trading at $37.31 per barrel.
