Shutterstock photo(RTTNews.com) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy decision due later in the week as well as new Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's first press conference for directional cues.
China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.29 percent to 3,279.25 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was marginally higher in late trade after Chinese President Xi Jinping was re-elected unanimously to the post over the weekend by the country's legislature.
Japanese shares closed lower after an opinion poll showed Prime Minister Abe's support falling to its lowest since he took office in 2012.
The Nikkei average fell 195.61 points or 0.90 percent to 21,480.90, its lowest close since March 9, while the broader Topix index closed 0.96 percent lower at 1,719.97. Exporters, banks and brokerages paced the decliners.
Investors ignored preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance showing that Japan's exports and imports grew more-than-expected in February. The value of exports climbed 1.8 percent year-over-year in February, faster than the 1.4 percent rise economists had forecast.
Imports surged 16.5 percent in February from a year ago, just above the expected spike of 16.0 percent. As a result, the overall trade surplus declined notably to JPY 3.4 billion in February from JPY 804.5 billion in the same month of 2017.
Australian shares ended a choppy session higher even as banks extended recent losses ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting this week.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 10 points or 0.17 percent to 5,959.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 9.80 points or 0.16 percent at 6,064.70.
Banks Commonwealth and NAB as well as retailer Wesfarmers shed around 0.6 percent each. Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto eked out modest gains, while energy stocks such as Woodside Petroleum and Santos climbed 2-3 percent.
Seoul shares fell sharply, led down by automakers after U.S. regulators opened a probe to look into airbag failure in vehicles. The benchmark Kospi dropped 18.94 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 2,475.03. Carmaker Hyundai Motor slumped 3.8 percent while its affiliate Kia Motors tumbled 3.5 percent.
New Zealand shares eked out modest gains, with Kathmandu Holdings leading the surge while Chorus shares tumbled 5.6 percent on going ex-dividend. The benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 15.04 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 8,492.12.
New Zealand's services sector growth slowed slightly in February, data from BusinessNZ showed. The corresponding index dropped 0.7 points to 55.0, marking the third consecutive decrease in expansion levels and the lowest since April 2017.
Malaysian shares were little changed and benchmark indexes in India, Indonesia and Singapore were down between 0.2 percent and half a percent while the Taiwan Weighted rose 0.2 percent.
U.S. stocks rose on Friday as a pair of positive economic reports on industrial production and consumer sentiment helped offset worries about political uncertainty amidst reports that President Donald Trump plans to remove national security adviser H.R. McMaster.
The Dow rose 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite ended on a flat note.
Read the original article on RTTNews (http://www.rttnews.com/2873675/asian-shares-mixed-as-fed-meeting-looms.aspx)
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
Read Again Asian Shares Mixed As Fed Meeting Looms : http://ift.tt/2FV9xCj
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Asian Shares Mixed As Fed Meeting Looms"
Post a Comment