Asian shares mixed, eyes on Ukraine crisis

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed on Friday, with another upbeat lead from Wall Street overshadowed by concerns about the Ukraine crisis.

The euro maintained its momentum after a pick-up on Thursday fuelled by a healthy consumer confidence reading from Germany, while the dollar also edged higher against the yen.

Tokyo added 0.77 percent and Sydney was up 0.24 percent but Hong Kong dipped 0.55 percent, Seoul was 0.30 percent lower and Shanghai eased 0.10 percent.

US shares ended mostly higher on Thursday following another round of impressive corporate results as well as a second strong month of durable goods orders in March indicating the economy is rebounding from its winter slump.

The Nasdaq climbed 0.52 percent, boosted by a rally in Apple, which rose more than eight percent on better-than-expected earnings. The S&P 500 added 0.17 percent and the Dow was unchanged.

However, traders remain on edge over the situation in Eastern Europe. Russia on Thursday ordered new military exercises on the border of Ukraine and warned of "consequences" after Kiev launched a deadly assault against pro-Kremlin rebels occupying a flashpoint town.

Later US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia of a "full-throated effort to actively sabotage the democratic process through gross external intimidation" and described the military exercises as "threatening".

He also said Moscow had broken an agreement signed last week in Geneva aimed at easing tensions, adding that refusal to take any steps to end the crisis would "not just be a grave mistake, it will be an expensive mistake".

The veteran diplomat added "we are ready to act" as Washington tees up new economic sanctions against Moscow.

On currency markets the euro edged up to $1.3833 and 141.65 yen from $1.3830 and 141.53 yen in New York, boosted by news that the Ifo economic institute´s closely watched German business climate index rose in April following a dip in March.

The dollar fetched 102.41 yen, against 102.32 yen in New York late Thursday.

Traders were largely unmoved by data showing Japanese inflation rose for a 10th straight month in March, with rising energy costs behind the increase.

Oil prices rose. New York´s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for June delivery, was up seven cents at $102.01 and Brent North Sea crude for June climbed 16 cents to $110.49.

Gold fetched $1,291.96 an ounce at 0240 GMT compared with $1,271.96 on Thursday. (AFP)

Asian shares mixed, eyes on Ukraine crisis

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed on Friday, with another upbeat lead from Wall Street overshadowed by concerns about the Ukraine crisis.

The euro maintained its momentum after a pick-up on Thursday fuelled by a healthy consumer confidence reading from Germany, while the dollar also edged higher against the yen.

Tokyo added 0.77 percent and Sydney was up 0.24 percent but Hong Kong dipped 0.55 percent, Seoul was 0.30 percent lower and Shanghai eased 0.10 percent.

US shares ended mostly higher on Thursday following another round of impressive corporate results as well as a second strong month of durable goods orders in March indicating the economy is rebounding from its winter slump.

The Nasdaq climbed 0.52 percent, boosted by a rally in Apple, which rose more than eight percent on better-than-expected earnings. The S&P 500 added 0.17 percent and the Dow was unchanged.

However, traders remain on edge over the situation in Eastern Europe. Russia on Thursday ordered new military exercises on the border of Ukraine and warned of "consequences" after Kiev launched a deadly assault against pro-Kremlin rebels occupying a flashpoint town.

Later US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia of a "full-throated effort to actively sabotage the democratic process through gross external intimidation" and described the military exercises as "threatening".

He also said Moscow had broken an agreement signed last week in Geneva aimed at easing tensions, adding that refusal to take any steps to end the crisis would "not just be a grave mistake, it will be an expensive mistake".

The veteran diplomat added "we are ready to act" as Washington tees up new economic sanctions against Moscow.

On currency markets the euro edged up to $1.3833 and 141.65 yen from $1.3830 and 141.53 yen in New York, boosted by news that the Ifo economic institute´s closely watched German business climate index rose in April following a dip in March.

The dollar fetched 102.41 yen, against 102.32 yen in New York late Thursday.

Traders were largely unmoved by data showing Japanese inflation rose for a 10th straight month in March, with rising energy costs behind the increase.

Oil prices rose. New York´s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for June delivery, was up seven cents at $102.01 and Brent North Sea crude for June climbed 16 cents to $110.49.

Gold fetched $1,291.96 an ounce at 0240 GMT compared with $1,271.96 on Thursday. (AFP)

Asian shares mixed, China manufacturing improves

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday following another Wall Street rally while a provisional report showed a slight improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity this month.

The dollar held on to recent gains against the yen, with traders keeping watch on US President Barack Obama´s visit to Asia that starts in Japan later in the day.

Tokyo rose 0.57 percent by the break, Sydney gained 0.69 percent and Seoul was up 0.21 percent but Shanghai eased 0.23 percent and Hong Kong was 0.30 percent off.

HSBC said its preliminary purchasing managers index (PMI) for China came in at 48.3 in April, up from 48.0 in March. While the figures points to a continuing contraction in manufacturing activity in the Asian economic giant, the rate has slowed.

A figure below 50 suggests shrinkage, while anything above points to growth.

The result will provide a little comfort to traders about the Chinese economy after data last week showed it grew 7.4 percent year on year in January-March, more than expected but sharply down from the previous three months.

"Domestic demand showed mild improvement and deflationary pressures eased, but downside risks to growth are still evident as both new export orders and employment contracted," HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said in a statement, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Eyes are now on the release of early PMI figures for Europe and the United States later in the day after recent figures have pointed to a pick-up in the global economy.

On currency markets the dollar bought 102.63 yen against 102.60 yen in New York Tuesday, while the euro bought $1.3802 and 141.69 yen, compared with $1.3804 and 141.65 yen.

The Australian dollar fell to 93.14 US cents from 93.75 cents after data showed Australian inflation was lower than expected in the first three months of the year. The figures raise the possibility the country´s central bank will lower interest rates to boost the faltering economy.

In New York the three main indexes enjoyed another positive day following a series of deals between pharmaceutical giants Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly that shuffled more than $20 billion in assets.

Added to that were solid or strong earnings from Comcast, Lockheed Martin, Netflix, Travelers and Xerox, among others. The S&P 500 added 0.41 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 0.97 percent, with each index clocking up a sixth successive advance after earlier this month suffering heavy selling.

The Dow climbed 0.40 percent, a third straight gain.

Analysts will be watching Obama´s three-day visit -- the start of an Asian trip -- for any mention of a Pacific-wide trade zone that has stumbled in recent weeks over differences between the US and Japan on the auto and agriculture sectors.

Oil prices were up. New York´s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for June delivery, was up six cents at $101.81 in early Asian trading. Brent North Sea crude for June rose 16 cents to $109.43. Gold fetched $1,283.97 an ounce at 0242 GMT, compared with $1,291.73 on Tuesday. (AFP)

Tokyo shares open lower

TOKYO: Tokyo shares opened lower Wednesday, following overnight falls of Wall Street stocks on profit taking, while the dollar slipped.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gave up 216.67 points or 1.42 percent to 15,007.44 in the first minutes of trading.
A lack of fresh trading incentives was also partly to blame for the weakness at the Tokyo bourse, said Kenichi Hirano, Tachinbana Securities market analyst.
"There is a real dearth of trading cues right now, which is in part responsible for the low volume we´ve seen in recent days," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Traders have been squaring positions for technical reasons, ahead of expirations of major options and futures contracts on Friday, he added.
US shares´ weakness overnight on profit-taking also weighed on the Tokyo market.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 67.43 (0.41 percent) to 16,351.25 on Tuesday.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 9.54 (0.51 percent) to 1,867.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 27.26 (0.63 percent) at 4,307.19, its fourth loss in as many sessions.
Analysts also blamed the yen´s strength against the dollar for adding pressure on Tokyo shares.
The greenback stood at 102.88 yen, falling from 102.94 yen in New York Tuesday. The euro was $1.3855 and 142.50 yen, mixed from $1.3863 142.73 yen in New York.