Asia markets mostly lower, South Korea shares rise as defense sector gains

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower Monday at the start of the penultimate week of 2023, while South Korean shares bucked the trend as defense stocks led gains. Most Asia-Pacific markets rallied last week following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates and its roadmap for rate cuts in 2024 and 2025. The Bank of Japan will meet for the last time this year. A note from Dutch bank ING said it expects the BOJ to maintain all its major policy settings, “though the overall tone about future policy at the press conference and statement could start to soften.“ A Reuters poll of economists also expects the BOJ to maintain its benchmark interest rate at -0.1%. Separately, China will release its loan prime rates on Wednesday, while inflation data from Japan is due Friday. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.22% lower at 7,426.40, snapping a six-day winning streak. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.64% to end at 32,758.98, while the Topix fell 0.66% to 2,316.86. South Korea’s Kospi reversed earlier declines to close 0.13% higher at 2,566.86; the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.51% to end at 850.96. Shares of defense companies were broadly higher. Korea Aerospace Industries’ stock and Hyundai Rotem were up about 1% each, but shares of Hanhwa Aerospace dipped. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped by about 1% during its final hour of trading, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 inched lower by 0.36% to notch a four-day losing streak and hit fresh four-year lows. On Friday in the U.S., markets ended mixed, and with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2% and setting a new intraday record and the Nasdaq Composite 0.4% higher. The Nasdaq-100 ended Friday at 16,623.45, topping a record close dating back to November 2021. In contrast, the S&P500 slipped marginally, but still logged gains for a seventh straight week to mark its longest winning streak since 2017.