(MENAFN– ecpulse)
Asian stocks swung between gains and losses on Wednesday and ended the session mixed in quiet trade due to profit-taking ahead of Thursday`s Thanksgiving holiday; meanwhile, the strong US data stoked fears that the Federal Reserve would soon reduce stimulus.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2% to 141.39 as of 14:46 in Hong Kong
In Japan, the benchmark index posted a second straight session of losses despite the yen’s weakness. The political tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over the islands in the East China Sea weighed on the index.
- Nikkei 225 closed 0.42% lower at 15449.63
- Topix closed 0.47% lower at 1247.08
The political tensions in the East China Sea also weighed on China’s stocks. Meanwhile, China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan called for a quota increase in two key investment schemes gave some support.
- China’s CSI 300 Index closed 1.13% higher at 2414.48
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.53% higher at 23806.35
In Australia, stocks fell on the back of lower commodity prices and after data on Wednesday showed declining investment in new resource projects, while in South Korea stocks rose despite weak manufacturing data that indicate recovery in remains fragile.
- The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.45% lower at 5332.81
- New Zealand’s NZX 50 closed 0.18% higher at 4799.35
- Kospi closed 0.31% higher at 2028.81
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