Asian shares mixed as rally peters

HONG KONG–Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei bouncing back from the previous day’s losses while the euro weakened further against the yen and the dollar.

The Dow on Wall Street marked up yet another record high, but with few catalysts to drive trade, investors stayed on the sidelines.

Tokyo added 0.50 percent, or 74.68 points, to finish at 15,069.48 and Seoul rose 0.14 percent, or 2.87 points, to 2,014.67 while Shanghai added 0.12 percent, or 2.42 points, to 2,054.95.

However, Sydney eased 0.29 percent, or 15.65 points, to 5,454.0 and Hong Kong eased 0.25 percent, or 58.45 points, to 23,257.29.

Analysts said dealers were taking a breather after a recent advance on global markets fueled by a batch of upbeat data, including on US jobs, Japanese economic growth, and Chinese manufacturing and trade.

Leading the advances has been Wall Street, where the Dow and S&P 500 have broken records on a regular basis over the past two weeks.

The rally stalled Tuesday. Although the Dow managed a 0.02 percent gain to hit a new record, the S&P 500 dipped 0.02 percent from its all-time high while the Nasdaq nudged 0.04 percent higher.

The main focus for the rest of the week will be on the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting that concludes Friday, with investors hoping for a lead on whether it plans to unveil any fresh stimulus measures for the economy.

On foreign exchange markets, in Tokyo Wednesday the dollar dipped to 102.30 yen, compared with 102.35 yen in New York.

The euro eased to $1.3537 and 138.48 yen from $1.3545 and 138.64 yen.

Analysts said the single currency was finally being sold off after the European Central Bank’s aggressive easing measures last week, which included an unprecedented cut in interest rates to negative.

“After an initial limited reaction, last week’s easing by the European Central Bank appears to be weighing on the euro,” said Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Securities.

Oil prices edged up as oil cartel OPEC prepares to hold a meeting in Vienna later in the day at which it is expected to maintain its production output.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery rose 34 cents to $104.69 a barrel in afternoon trade, and Brent oil for July added 33 cents to $109.85.

Gold fetched $1,262.40 an ounce at 1030 GMT compared with $1,253.19 late Tuesday.

In other markets:

— Mumbai fell 0.43 percent, or 109.80 points, to end at 25,473.89 points. During the session, the index reached a new high of 25,735.87 points.

TTK Prestige fell 8.97 percent to 3,752.40 rupees, while HDIL lost 8.43 percent to 100.45 rupees.

— Singapore closed down 0.11 percent, or 3.78 points, at 3,290.04.

Oil rig maker Keppel Corp. rose 0.19 percent to Sg$10.74 while United Overseas Bank slipped 0.22 percent to Sg$22.55.

— Bangkok lost 0.37 percent, or 5.48 points, to 1,463.71.

Telecoms company Total Access Communication dropped 4.94 percent to 115.50 baht, while True Corporation rose 5.59 percent to 8.50 baht.

— Kuala Lumpur gained 0.09 percent, or 1.77 points, to 1,878.38.

Sime Darby added 0.11 percent to 9.52 ringgit, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.97 percent to 6.26 while AMMB Holdings lost 0.14 percent to 7.19 ringgit.

— Jakarta ended up 0.52 percent, or 25.86 points, at 4,971.95.

Rice-producing firm Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food gained 2.53 percent to 2,435 rupiah, while telecoms firm Telkom slipped 1.78 percent to 2,480 rupiah.

— Taipei was flat, edging up 7.43 points to 9,229.8.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 0.4 percent to Tw$125.0 while smartphone maker HTC fell 2.41 percent to Tw$141.5.

— Wellington was marginally lower, edging down 0.25 points to 5,179.15.

Telecom was unchanged at NZ$2.685 and Fletcher Building slipped 1.30 percent to NZ$9.12.

— Manila climbed 0.46 percent, or 31.20 points, to 6,809.18.

BDO Unibank gained 1.59 percent to 92.65 pesos while Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. rose 0.53 percent to 85.85.–Danny McCord

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