Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday as lower commodity prices and a continued sell-off in technology shares kept investors nervous ahead of Easter holidays.
Chinese stocks ended higher as property developers surged after a recent correction. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rallied 38.64 points or 1.2 percent to close at 3,160.93, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 70.85 points or 0.2 percent to 30,093.38.
Japanese shares rose as the yen weakened amid easing tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program and a report showed Japanese retail shares ticked higher in February, suggesting growing consumer confidence.
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 127.77 points or 0.6 percent to 21,159.08, while the broader Topix Index closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,704.
Fast Retailing, Yaskawa Electric, Trend Micro, Asahi Glass and Nichirei Corp jumped 3-4 percent. Meanwhile, Panasonic tumbled 4 percent and Sony declined 1.2 percent despite a weaker yen. Tech stocks such as Advantest and Tokyo Electron lost 1-2 percent.
Softbank fell 1.5 percent on a Bloomberg report that it is nearing an agreement to acquire a stake in Swiss Re. Takeda Pharmaceutical slumped 7.5 percent after the company said that it is at a preliminary and exploratory stage regarding a possible bid for U.K.-based biopharmaceutical company Shire plc.
Australian shares closed lower despite banks seeing a rebound from recent losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 30.10 points or 0.5 percent to 5,759.40 on the final session before the Easter break, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 30.30 points or 0.5 percent at 5,868.90.
Telco Telstra fell 1.3 percent to extend recent losses, and miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group dropped between 0.9 percent and 1.6 percent.
Santos, Oil Search and Origin Energy lost 1-2 percent after crude oil prices declined more than 1 percent overnight.
On the other hand, banks Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac ended up between 0.1 percent and 0.6 percent ahead of the RBA’s monetary policy meeting due next week.
