Asian markets mixed; Nikkei up 0.5%, Kospi down 0.1% : 28.10.2016
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.53 percent, despite the weaker economic data released. A weaker yen likely drove the market's gains.
Asian markets turned mixed after opening positive, as oil prices begin to slip after an initial bounce in the US on OPEC comments. The ASX 200 fell 0.24 percent, weighed by declines in its financials subindex, which was down 0.51 percent. Losses were offset by strength in the energy subindex, which gained 0.48 percent, and the materials sector, up 0.68 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.53 percent, despite the weaker economic data released. A weaker yen likely drove the market's gains. The dollar/yen pair broke past 105 levels around the time of London Stock Exchange's close, on the back of a stronger dollar. The currency pair was trading at 105.15 as of 8:52 am HK/SIN, but may struggle to remain above 105, an analyst said. "USD/JPY may have found its way above 105 but in order for the currency pair to hold onto its gains, Q3 needs to have been a very strong quarter and it is not clear that this was the case," Kathy Lien, FX strategy managing director at BK Asset Management, said in a Friday note. Across the Korean strait, the Kospi slipped 0.11 percent, after initially opening higher. Crude oil prices rose in the US session after Gulf members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reaffirmed commitments to Russia that the cartel was willing to cut output by 4 percent, Reuters reported. OPEC members will meet on Friday and Saturday with energy officials from non-member countries. US crude slipped 0.06 percent in Asian trade after settling at USD 49.72 a barrel in the US, while Brent futures were down 0.14 percent in Asia, after it settled at USD 50.47 in the previous session. Asia-based oil majors were mixed. Australia's Santos was up 1.14 percent, while Oil Search rose 1.36 percent and Woodside Petroleum was up 0.91 percent, but Japan's Inpex was down 0.08 percent and Japan Petroleum was up 0.98 percent. The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was trading at 98.866. Data showed that Japan's September consumer price inflation was down 0.5 percent from a year earlier, the seventh straight month of falling prices, while September household spending also fell 2.1 percent. One bright spot in Japan's economic news flow on Friday was the pick-up in its September jobless rate which fell to 3 percent, from 3.1 percent in August. In Australia, the Bureau of Statistics reported third-quarter producer prices rose 0.3 percent from the previous quarter. Stateside, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.16 percent to end at 18,169.68, and the S&P 500 closed down 0.3 percent at 2,133.04, while the Nasdaq composite finished down 0.65 percent at 5,215.97
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In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.53 percent, despite the weaker economic data released. A weaker yen likely drove the market's gains.
Asian markets turned mixed after opening positive, as oil prices begin to slip after an initial bounce in the US on OPEC comments. The ASX 200 fell 0.24 percent, weighed by declines in its financials subindex, which was down 0.51 percent. Losses were offset by strength in the energy subindex, which gained 0.48 percent, and the materials sector, up 0.68 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.53 percent, despite the weaker economic data released. A weaker yen likely drove the market's gains. The dollar/yen pair broke past 105 levels around the time of London Stock Exchange's close, on the back of a stronger dollar. The currency pair was trading at 105.15 as of 8:52 am HK/SIN, but may struggle to remain above 105, an analyst said. "USD/JPY may have found its way above 105 but in order for the currency pair to hold onto its gains, Q3 needs to have been a very strong quarter and it is not clear that this was the case," Kathy Lien, FX strategy managing director at BK Asset Management, said in a Friday note. Across the Korean strait, the Kospi slipped 0.11 percent, after initially opening higher. Crude oil prices rose in the US session after Gulf members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reaffirmed commitments to Russia that the cartel was willing to cut output by 4 percent, Reuters reported. OPEC members will meet on Friday and Saturday with energy officials from non-member countries. US crude slipped 0.06 percent in Asian trade after settling at USD 49.72 a barrel in the US, while Brent futures were down 0.14 percent in Asia, after it settled at USD 50.47 in the previous session. Asia-based oil majors were mixed. Australia's Santos was up 1.14 percent, while Oil Search rose 1.36 percent and Woodside Petroleum was up 0.91 percent, but Japan's Inpex was down 0.08 percent and Japan Petroleum was up 0.98 percent. The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was trading at 98.866. Data showed that Japan's September consumer price inflation was down 0.5 percent from a year earlier, the seventh straight month of falling prices, while September household spending also fell 2.1 percent. One bright spot in Japan's economic news flow on Friday was the pick-up in its September jobless rate which fell to 3 percent, from 3.1 percent in August. In Australia, the Bureau of Statistics reported third-quarter producer prices rose 0.3 percent from the previous quarter. Stateside, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.16 percent to end at 18,169.68, and the S&P 500 closed down 0.3 percent at 2,133.04, while the Nasdaq composite finished down 0.65 percent at 5,215.97