Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended on a mixed note Tuesday as weak commodity prices pulled down resource stocks and investors waited for cues from the G-7 summit in Canada later this week as well the June 12th summit in Singapore between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Gold held steady after three sessions of declines and the dollar held near a two-week high against the yen, while oil edged higher after falling nearly 2 percent in the previous session on concerns over growing U.S. production and expectations of higher OPEC supplies.
Chinese shares rose after data showed activity in China’s service sector expanded at a steady pace in May. The Caixin Services PMI stood at 52.9, matching expectations and unchanged from the previous month. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 23.22 points or 0.8 percent to end at 3,114.41.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 95.47 points or 0.3 percent to 31,093.45 despite the Nikkei PMI score for the private sector coming in at 47.8 in May, down from 49.1 in April.
Japanese shares eked out modest gains as the yen edged lower against the dollar and data on service sector activity and household spending painted a mixed picture of the economy. The Nikkei 225 Index inched up 63.60 points or 0.3 percent to 22,539.54, while the broader Topix Index finished marginally higher at 1,774.96.
Tech shares followed their U.S. peers higher, with Tokyo Electron and Advantest ending up more than 1 percent each. Japan Communications soared 7.3 percent after Japan’s financial watchdog said it would support a fintech experiment project by a consortium including the company.
Sharp Corp. lost 4.1 percent on reports that it is in talks to finalize a deal to buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business for around 5 billion yen.
Meanwhile, Australian shares closed lower as iron ore and oil prices fell and the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged at a historic low of 1.5 percent for the 20th consecutive meeting, citing sluggish wage growth and tepid inflation.
The service sector in Australia continued to expand in May and at an accelerated pace, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed with a Performance of Service Index score of 59.0, up from 55.2 in April.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 30.60 points or 0.5 percent to 5,994.90, while the All Ordinaries Index ended down 30.10 points or 0.5 percent at 6,108.50.
Commonwealth Bank rose 1 percent to extend Monday’s gains after settling a civil lawsuit. The other three big banks fell between 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent.
The overnight fall in oil prices weighed on the energy sector, with Oil Search, Santos and Origin Energy losing 1-2 percent. Miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group dropped more than 1 percent each.
