Major Asian markets retreat, with Shanghai down 1.4%
Major Asian markets lost their positive momentum on Friday, largely ignoring another upward finish on Wall Street overnight.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was flat, while South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.14 percent. Chinese markets were also lower, with the Shanghai composite down 1.36 percent and the Shenzhen composite lower by 3.67 percent.
Bucking the trend, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.61 percent, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index tacked on 8.88 points, or 0.17 percent, to end at 5,090.
“There is an air of fatigue from the bulls in a number of developed equity markets, but they continue to grind higher,” wrote Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG.
Weston added, “We have not yet reached the point where the market internals are highly suggestive of contrarian short positions. But the market is in need of some injection of new news to provide an injection of inspiration and cause a new leg higher. It seems unlikely this inspiration comes from today’s U.S. payrolls.”
But David de Garis, director and senior economist for fixed income, currencies and commodities at the National Australia Bank, wrote in a note that the non-farm payroll due Friday stateside is likely to be “pretty solid overall with a near 200 [thousand] print in employment expected.”
Other important events that could likely provide cue for markets in the coming days include China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), which begins this weekend, as well as the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan meetings next week.
On the currency front, several major currencies in the region saw strength against the dollar.
In Japan, the dollar/yen pair moved back to the 113 handle overnight after climbing over 114 Thursday. The pair traded down at 113.62 on Friday afternoon local time.
Japanese export stocks were mixed, with shares of Toyota up 0.34 percent, while Nissan and Honda slipped 0.37 and 0.13 percent, respectively. A stronger yen is usually a negative for exporters as it reduces their overseas profits when converted to local currency.
The Chinese yuan also strengthened against the dollar, with the dollar/yuan pair trading down 0.24 percent at 6.5156 as of 12:48 p.m. HK/SIN time. Before market open, the People’s Bank of China fixed the yuan mid-point at 6.5284 against the dollar, compared with Thursday’s fix at 6.5412.
Down Under, the Australian dollar also found strength against the U.S. dollar, with the pair trading up 0.19 percent at 0.7362.
Australian miners were the big winners on Friday, with Rio Tintofinishing up 1.79 percent, Fortescue up 4.17 percent and BHP Billitongaining 2.61 percent. Gold miners also finished up, with Newcrestadding 0.58 percent and Alacer Gold gaining 2.55 percent.
Gold prices were up overnight, with U.S. gold futures for April delivery up 1.26 percent an ounce at $1,257.60. Spot gold, however, retreated 0.14 percent to $1,261.52 an ounce as of 1:07 p.m. HK/SIN time.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the country’s retail sales for January was up 0.3 percent on-month, slightly off a Reuters poll that predicted a 0.4 percent increase. Retailers finished the Friday session mixed, with major supplier Metcash down 5.31 percent, while supermarket chain Woolworths rose 1.07 percent.
Oil prices gained during Asian hours, with U.S. crude futures up 0.78 percent at $34.84 a barrel as of 1:10 p.m. HK/SIN time, after losing steam overnight and falling 0.26 percent. Global benchmark Brentfutures were up 0.57 percent at $37.28, after settling up 0.37 percent during U.S. hours.
Energy plays across the region were mostly up, with Santos finishing higher by 5.96 percent, Inpex up 6.23 percent and Japan Petroleum up 5.53 percent. Woodside Petroleum, however, retreated by 0.18 percent.
Mainland Chinese oil plays were mixed, with Sinopec down 3.63 percent and China Petroleum up by 1.76 percent.
Overnight, major indexes in the U.S. closed up; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.26 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.35 percent and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.09 percent.
Source: CNBC
