By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended on a mixed note on Thursday as investors grappled with conflicting signals from senior officials in the Trump administration on trade policy.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 27.29 points or 1 percent to 2,785.98 amid renewed trade tensions and ahead of Chinese manufacturing and non-manufacturing data due on Saturday. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index reversed early losses to 141.06 points or 0.5 percent higher at 28,497.
Japanese shares ended largely unchanged near one-month lows due to uncertainty over the Trump administration’s trade policy. The Nikkei 225 Index ended marginally lower at 22,270.39 after falling by as much as 1 percent earlier in the day. The broader Topix Index closed 0.3 percent lower at 1,727.
Showa Shell fell 3.8 percent after hitting a record high the previous day on reports that Idemitsu Kosan’s founding family is likely to drop its opposition to long-stalled plans for a merger with the company.
Australian shares eked out modest gains, led by banks, energy and materials stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 19.50 points or 0.3 percent to 6,215.40, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 15.30 points or 0.2 percent at 6,305.80.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto jumped 1-2 percent as base metal prices recovered on the London Metal Exchange and Chinese iron ore futures rose after the release of weekly steel inventory data.
The big four banks rose between 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent as investors looked for high dividend yields.
Energy stocks Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Origin Energy and Oil Search climbed 1-3 percent after U.S. oil prices jumped more than 3 percent on Wednesday to reach three-and-a-half year highs, helped by supply disruptions in Libya and Canada as well as government data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.
On the other hand, realty stocks closed broadly lower amid signs of a softening housing market. Stockland Corp. tumbled 3.2 percent and Goodman Group fell over 1 percent.
