SINGAPORE – Shares in Asia Pacific were mixed on Friday as several major markets in the region, including Hong Kong and Singapore, closed early on Christmas Eve.
From Hong Kong Hang Seng Index up 0.13% on the day to close at 23,223.76. On the other hand, mainland China stocks closed lower. The Shanghai composite fell 0.69% to 3,618.05 while Shenzhen Ingredients down 1.033% to 14,710.33.
In Japan, Nikkei 225 closed partially lower at 28,782.59 while the Topix index fell 0.13% to 1,986.78. South Korea Kospi up 0.48% to end the trading day at 3,012.43.
In Australia, S&P / ASX 200 up 0.44% to close at 7,420.30. Overtaken in Southeast Asia, by Singapore Straits Times Index closed 0.37% higher at 3,108.28.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.06%.
Besides the overnight states, the key averages rose for the third day on Thursday as investors looked past previous worries about the spread of the Covid omicron variant. The S&P 500 rose 0.62% to close at a new record of 4,725.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 196.67 points to 35,950.56 while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.85% to 15,653.37.
US markets are closed on Friday for the Christmas holiday.
Currency and oil
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against its basket of currencies, stood at 96.019 after sliding earlier this week from around 96.6.
The Japanese yen was trading at 114.38 per dollar, still weaker than below 113.5 seen earlier in the week. The Australian dollar at $0.7234, having risen from below $0.714 earlier this week.
Oil prices slide in the afternoon Asian trading time, with international standards Brent Crude Oil Futures down 0.46% to $76.50 per barrel.
