Asia Stocks Struggle, But Sydney Gains
Stocks struggled to gain traction in choppy range-bound trading across Asia on Monday, although the Australian market found some support from corporate news.
South Korea’s Kopsi SEU and the Shanghai Composite index 000001 each lost 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI edged down 0.1%, and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average 100000018 traded little changed.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index XJO bucked the weakness, however, with an advance of 0.3%.
Amid expectations for more central-bank stimulus, U.S. stocks had ended higher Friday, completing a fifth straight week of gains.Read more on U.S. sharemarket action.
“After an exciting few weeks of policy anticipation, policy action and market reaction, risk assets seem to have entered a consolidation phase,” said Stan Shamu, strategist at IG Markets.
Sentiment in Asia wasn’t helped by disappointing data out from Japan, where the economy showed anemic growth of 1.4% in the April-June quarter.
That marked a steep slowdown from an upwardly revised advance of 5.5% in the first quarter. Read more on Japanese GDP.
Industrials were among the decliners in Japan on Monday, with Yokohama Rubber Co. 5101 YORUY down 1.4%, and Fanuc Corp. 6954 FANUY falling 1%.
Energy-sector shares were also lower, with JX Holdings Inc. 5020 JXHGF down 1.9% and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. 5002 SWSKF losing 0.9%.
Helping support the Tokyo market, shares of TDK Corp. 6762 TTDKY were up 2.2%, and Citizen Holdings Co.7762 CHCLY rallied 4.4% after a Nikkei report Saturday that it had bought the LCD operations of U.S. firm Micron Technology Inc. MU
Australia’s BlueScope Steel Ltd. BSL BLSFY exploded 34.6% higher, while Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. 5401 NISTY traded flat after the two steel makers said that they would form a building-products alliance. Read more on BlueScope-Nippon Steel joint-venture plans.
Other advancers in Australia included mining firms, with BHP Billiton Ltd. BHP BHP up 0.9% and Newcrest Mining Ltd. NCM NCMGF advancing 3.7% after reporting a 23% increase in fiscal-year net profit from higher gold prices. Read more on Newcrest results.
Hong Kong investors pushed up shares in some property firms, with Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. 1 CHEUY up 1.7%, Sino Land Co.83 SNLAY gaining 1.6%, and Henderson Land Development Co. 12 HLDCY climbing 1.2%.
But losses for Internet firm Tencent Holdings Ltd. 700 , TCEHY, down 2.6%; and casino firm Sands China Ltd. 1928 SCHYY, lower by 1.8%, worked to limit upside for the Hang Seng Index.
In South Korea, technology firms were under pressure, with SK Hynix Inc. HXSCL down 1.3% and Samsung Electronics Inc. SSNLF falling 1.5%.
Marketwatch
