Asia shares mixed, oil rises as Ukraine fears weigh

People walk past an electronic stock indicator in Tokyo May 8, 2014. Asian stocks closed mixed to higher on Monday, May 12, despite fears the Ukraine crisis could intensify, as Chinese markets ended sharply up on hopes for market reforms. AP PHOTO/SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI

HONG KONG—Asian stocks closed mixed to higher on Monday, despite fears the Ukraine crisis could intensify, as Chinese markets ended sharply up on hopes for market reforms.

Despite a positive lead from Wall Street’s Friday close, trading started on a downbeat note after pro-Russian rebels late on Sunday claimed that voters in eastern Ukraine had massively voted for independence.

Kiev and the West dismissed the disputed referendum as an illegal “farce.”

Oil rose above $100 a barrel as investors fretted that any escalation of the tensions leading to conflict could disrupt supplies and send prices rocketing.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index lost 0.35 percent, or 50.07 points, to close at 14,149.52 as investors awaited the release of key Japanese and US data later in the week, including US retail sales and housing starts.

“This will be a week when investors will assess the US economic outlook after the impact of the polar vortex (cold weather) has rounded off,” SMBC Nikko Securities said in a note to clients.

Seoul closed 0.43 percent higher, gaining 8.39 points to 1,964.94, while Sydney eased 0.23 percent, or 12.44 points, to 5,448.4 before the release of the national budget Tuesday.

Stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China ended sharply higher after the Beijing government outlined moves to develop the country’s capital markets.

Hong Kong leapt 1.82 percent, or 398.62 points, to end at 22,261.61.

Shanghai jumped 2.07 percent, or 41.73 points, to 2,052.87 while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, jumped 2.25 percent, or 22.85 points, to 1,040.54.

China’s State Council, or cabinet, late Friday issued guidelines to promote development of the stock, bond and futures markets, including expanding the scale of foreign investment in the capital markets.

“The guidelines boosted investor confidence,” Haitong Securities analyst Zhang Qi told AFP. But he said gains could be capped by worries over upcoming initial public offerings.

Ukraine fears hit oil

US stocks touched a fresh closing high on Friday, with investors shrugging off mixed earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 32.37 points (0.20 percent) to 16,583.34, 2.5 points above the previous high on April 30.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 2.85 (0.15 percent) to 1,878.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 20.37 points (0.50 percent) to 4,071.88.

But oil prices rose steeply Monday on Ukraine jitters.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for June delivery, was up 31 cents at $100.30, while Brent North Sea crude for June gained 48 cents to $108.37 per barrel.

The dollar was almost flat in Asian trade Monday, holding on to last week’s gains against the euro after Mario Draghi said the European Central Bank was ready to ease monetary policy soon.

The greenback fetched 101.86 yen in afternoon trade in Tokyo, up slightly from 101.83 yen in New York Friday.

The euro was quoted at $1.3769 and 140.30 yen, against $1.3758 and 140.10 yen.

Gold fetched $1,294.30 an ounce at 1055 GMT compared with $1,289.14 late Friday.

In other markets:

— Bangkok lost 0.16 percent, or 2.23 points, to close at 1,375.14.

Bangchak Petroleum added 2.52 percent to 30.50 baht, while Thai Airways International fell 1.50 percent to 13.10 baht.

— Jakarta closed 0.30 percent higher, or 14.86 points, to close at 4,912.998.

Indocement Tunggal Prakasa rose 4.55 percent to 23,000 rupiah, while cigarette maker Gudang Garam fell 0.89 percent to 55,500 rupiah.

— Kuala Lumpur slid 0.03 percent, or 0.64 points, to finish at 1,866.08.

Guinness Anchor Berhad ended 2.5 percent lower at 13.94 ringgit while Bumi Armada was down 2.0 percent to 3.90. Hong Leong added 1.7 percent to end at 15.42 ringgit.

— Manila lost 0.52 percent, or 35.92 points, to 6,811.34.

Top-traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. dropped 2.42 percent to 2,902 pesos, while Ayala Land Inc. fell 0.63 percent to 31.75 pesos.

— Singapore slipped 0.91 percent, or 29.70 points, to finish at 3,222.43.

DBS bank dropped 2.52 percent to Sg$16.65 while Singapore Airlines also eased 0.10 percent to Sg$10.20.

— Taipei fell 0.91 percent, or 81.08 points, to 8,808.61.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. closed 1.25 percent lower at Tw$118.5, while leading chip design house MediaTek shed 2.47 percent to Tw$493.5.

— Wellington closed up 0.19 percent, or 9.75 points, at 5,162.423.

Telecom Corp. gained 0.57 percent to NZ$2.64 while Contract Energy rose 0.36 percent to NZ$5.50.

— Mumbai rose 2.42 percent, or 556.77 points, to 23,551.

Torrent Power surged 18.38 percent to 140.75 rupees and IRB Infra gained 12.99 percent to 148.30 rupees.