Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday as investors reacted to the release of HSBC earnings.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed little changed at 26,132.03. Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC rose 0.43% after the bank on Monday reported a pre-tax profit in the third quarter of 2021 that bested expectations.
Shares of embattled developer China Evergrande Group declined 0.74% by the Hong Kong market close after surging nearly 6% earlier. The firm announced Sunday it had resumed work on more than 10 projects, according to Reuters.
Mainland Chinese stocks closed higher, with the Shanghai composite gaining 0.76% to 3,609.86 while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.717% to 14,596.72.
The Covid-19 situation in China may have weighed on investor sentiment regionally after an official warned that the outbreak could spread further, Reuters reported Sunday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.71% lower at 28,600.41 while the Topix index shed 0.34% to 1,995.42. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.48%, closing at 3,020.54. Stocks in Australia edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.34% on the day to 7,441.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.12%.
Asian Markets Oil and Currencies
Oil prices climbed on Monday, extending pre-weekend gains to hit multi-year highs as global supply remained tight amid solid fuel demand in the United States and elsewhere in the world as economies pick up from coronavirus pandemic-induced slumps.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 87 cents, or 1.0%, to $84.63 a barrel at 0342 GMT, after gaining 1.5% on Friday. It touched its highest since October 2014 – $84.76 – earlier in the session.
Brent crude futures increased 71 cents, or 0.8%, to $86.24 a barrel, following on from last Friday’s 1.1% gain. The contract earlier hit its highest since October 2018 of $86.43.
Shares of oil companies in Asia-Pacific jumped, with Beach Energy in Australia rising 5.07% while Japan’s Inpex gained 2.63%. Hong Kong-listed shares of PetroChina climbed 1.28%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.53 after touching an earlier high of 93.689.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.63 per dollar following its strengthening from above 114 against the greenback late last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7504, above an earlier low of $0.7456.
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