Home World Asia-Pacific markets mixed as oil stocks rise; Australia central bank’s rate decision ahead

SINGAPORE — Shares in major Asia-Pacific markets struggled for direction in Tuesday morning trade as investors look ahead to the Australian central bank’s interest rate decision.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.29% while the Topix index advanced 0.3%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.51%.

Mainland Chinese stocks, on the other hand, declined. The Shanghai composite slipped 0.27% while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.222%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.5%.

Meanwhile, stocks in Australia climbed as the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.18%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded around the flatline.

Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of Australia is set to announce its interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

US crude futures jump

U.S. crude futures jumped in the morning of Asia trading hours on Tuesday, rising 1.96% to $76.63 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.38% to $77.45 per barrel.

Shares of Asia-Pacific firms in the oil space rose in Tuesday morning trade, with Australia’s Beach Energy rising 2.75% while Santos gained 1.51%. Shares of Inpex in Japan also jumped 2.97%. In Hong Kong, shares of PetroChina climbed 1.04%.

Oil prices surged to multiyear highs on Monday after talks between OPEC and its oil-producing allies, known as OPEC+, were postponed indefinitely following a failure by the group to reach on agreement on production policy for August and beyond.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.253 — off levels above 92.4 seen late last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 110.81 per dollar after touching levels around 110.8 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.754, above levels below $0.752 seen yesterday.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

  • Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN

— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens contributed to this report.

Source: CNBC

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