SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Friday morning trade as investors watched regional technology stock movements following a decline in the sector stateside overnight.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai composite down slightly while the Shenzhen component rose 0.349%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.33%.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.96%. Shares of major miner Rio Tinto dipped around 0.2% after the firm announced its chief executive will be stepping down “by mutual agreement.” That came following a board-led review over the legal destruction of historically significant Aboriginal rockshelters, according to Reuters. Other major miners saw larger downward moves, with Fortescue Metals Group down about 3.4% while BHP fell 1.41%.
Elsewhere, Japanese stocks saw gains, as the Nikkei 225 rose 0.27% while the Topix index advanced 0.48%. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.63%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.23% lower.
Tech shares mixed
Technology shares regionally were mixed in Friday morning trade, after their counterparts on Wall Street slipped overnight amid a recent downward trend.
In Japan, shares of conglomerate Softbank Group slipped 0.22% while Sharp dropped 1.87%. Over in South Korea, industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw its stock dip 0.48%. SK Hynix, on the other hand, advanced 1.31%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent rose 0.79% while Xiaomi jumped 2%. ZTE, on the other hand, shed 0.43%.
Overnight stateside, the major stock averages stateside saw losses on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.89, or 1.45%, to 27,534.58. The S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 3,339.19 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% to 10,919.59.
Meanwhile, geopolitical developments also likely weighed on investor sentiment, amid a recent rise in tensions between the U.K. and EU.
“Its looking more and more like (U.K.) Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push for a hard Brexit,” Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, wrote in a Sept. 10 note.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.269 after an earlier high of 93.352.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.16 per dollar after changing hands at levels below 105.9 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.727 after falling yesterday from levels above $0.73.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.37% to $39.91 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.24% to $37.21 per barrel.
What’s on tap:
- Malaysia: Industrial production for July
Source: CNBC