After a soft opening, Asian equities broadly turned higher Monday as the market looked to rebound from Friday’s weakness, although investors remained wary of lingering U.S.-China trade tensions and shaky oil prices.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.09% made up early losses of almost 1% and was last up about 0.2%. Major exporters lost ground behind a weaker yen. Sony 6758, -3.07% fell 2.3% while Honda 7267, +0.06% and Nintendo 7974, -0.41% slipped slightly. Robotics maker Fanuc 6954, +2.58% jumped 2.3%.
Hong Kong stocks started slightly higher after Friday’s region-leading declines. The Hang HSI, -0.02% was up 0.3% following last week’s 3.3% skid, including 2.4% on Friday. HSBC 0005, +0.62% gained 1% and China Mobile 0941, +1.71% climbed 1.5%. Chinese oil majors also rose as crude prices have bounced this morning. But Tencent 0700, -3.15% dropped 2% and AAC 2018, -3.55% fell 1.4% after skidding 18% last week to 2½-year lows.
Smaller Chinese stocks were again outpacing their larger peer, continuing a trading pattern seen last week. The Shenzhen Composite 399106, +2.53% rose 1.1% while the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +1.22% was up 0.5%. Oil companies were faring well amid a 1% gain in crude prices CLZ8, +1.53% .
South Korea’s Kospi SEU, -0.27% dropped 0.3%, while benchmarks in Taiwan Y9999, +0.01% and Singapore STI, -0.36% were mixed. Australia’s ASX 200 XJO, +0.33% was about flat as bank shares tumbled, and New Zealand stocks NZ50GR, +0.28% were down fractionally.
