Asian shares mixed, dollar pushes up against yen
HONG KONG—Asian markets were mixed on Thursday following two days of gains, while increasing optimism over the recovery in the US economy boosted the dollar.
Tokyo gained 0.72 percent, or 72.76 points, to 10,123.28 and Hong Kong added 0.21 percent, or 45.64 points, to 21,353.53 while Sydney shed 0.22 percent, or 9.4 points, to 4,277.8 and Seoul was flat, edging down 1.32 points to 2,043.76.
Shanghai fell 0.73 percent, or 17.46 points, to 2,373.77.
Investors took a breather after recent gains that were fuelled by Greece’s successful debt swap with private creditors last week, strong US jobs data and upbeat comments from the Federal Reserve on US economy.
Tokyo exporters were lifted by the weakening yen, which fell to a fresh 11-month low against the dollar after the Fed doused any chance of monetary easing in the near term.
Adding to selling pressure on the yen was the Bank of Japan’s decision last month to pump more cash into the country’s stuttering economy.
The dollar rose to 84.18 yen in Tokyo – its highest since April – before easing to 83.89. It sat at 83.64 yen late Wednesday in New York.
The euro advanced to 109.45 yen compared with 109.08 yen and sat at $1.3060, compared with $1.3032 in New York.
“The US dollar in particular has been buoyed by higher US bond yields,” Mitul Kotecha, strategist at French bank Credit Agricole, said in a note.
“Risk measures continue to improve, suggesting that the overall tone to risk assets will remain positive,” he said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The dollar may climb as high as 84.50 yen during the session, backed by rising US Treasury yields and an improving outlook for the US economy, said Masashi Murata, senior currency strategist at investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.
Shanghai and Hong Kong shares remained weak after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said property prices were still too high in the country and that tightening measures aimed at bringing them down were unlikely to be eased in the near term.
Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Thursday as concerns over tensions between the West and Iran were tempered by rising stockpiles in the United States.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April was up two cents to $105.45 while Brent North Sea crude for April delivery shed 49 cents to $124.48 in the afternoon.
Gold was at $1,646.70 an ounce at 1045 GMT, compared with $1,659.39 late Wednesday.
In other markets:
— Singapore was flat, edging down 0.56 points to 3,025.84.
Beverage distributor Fraser and Neave gained 0.30 percent to Sg$6.75, while Singapore Airlines nudged up 0.09 percent to Sg$11.00.
— Taipei was flat, dipping 3.64 points to 8,121.62.
Hon Hai was 0.48 percent higher at Tw$104.0 while AU Optronics fell 0.98 percent to Tw$15.2.
— Manila closed 0.38 percent, or 19.21 points, down at 5,031.78.
Megaworld fell 3.27 percent to 1.77 pesos while Philippine Long Distance Telephone slipped 2.74 percent to 2,694 pesos.
Alliance Global Group rose 6.77 percent to 13.24 pesos.
— Wellington ended 0.99 percent, or 34.74 points, higher at 3,533.73.
Contact Energy rose 0.20 percent to NZ$5.01, Telecom advanced 2.22 percent to NZ$2.53 and Air New Zealand put on 1.15 percent to NZ$0.88.
— Jakarta slipped 0.35 percent, or 14.35 points, to 4,039.98.
Ramayana Lestari Sentosa rose 1.20 percent to 840 rupiah, Semen Gresik gained 2.87 percent to 12,550 rupiah and Astra Agro Lestari lost 2.63 percent to 22,800 rupiah.
— Kuala Lumpur added 0.23 percent, or 3.67 points, to 1,579.38.
Petronas Gas fell 2.2 percent to 16.60 ringgit, DiGi.com shed 1.3 percent to 3.90 ringgit and YTL added 4.1 percent to 1.80 ringgit.
— Bangkok added 0.60 percent, or 6.98 points, to 1,171.34.
Bangkok Bank gained 3.06 percent to 185 baht, while Advance Info added 2.66 percent to 173.50 baht.
— Mumbai fell 243.45 points or 1.36 percent to 17,675.85.
India’s top property firm DLF fell 4.76 percent to 195.95 rupees while engineering giant Bharat Heavy Electricals ltd fell 3.37 percent to 283.6.
