A day after a broad selloff, Asian stock markets gained in early trading Tuesday, despite modest losses on Wall Street.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.61% was up 0.5%, led by SoftBank Group and energy and steel stocks, amid continuing concerns about U.S. trade issues. Of 33 Topix subindexes, 17 sectors were higher. SoftBank 9984, +2.80% was up more than 3% following a 7.3% loss Monday due to concerns about the viability of its technology investment fund, partly financed by Saudi Arabia. SoftBank’s gains accounted for almost half of the indexes gains Tuesday. Oil explorer Inpex 1605, +3.95% was up 3.6% and oil distributor Idemitsu Kosan 5019, +2.19% rose 1.7% after crude oil gains overnight due to Saudi supply concerns.
Hong Kong stocks were among the region’s best performer, with the oil sector getting a fresh lift. The Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.38% was up 0.9% after falling 1.4% yesterday, one of the region’s bigger declines. Chinese oil giants Sinopec 0386, +1.48% , CNOOC 0883, +2.61% and PetroChina 0857, +1.83% were all up more than 2% while property names were also higher. Mainland developer Country Garden 2007, +3.42% followed yesterday’s 6.7% skid with an early 4% gain. But Tencent 0700, -1.70% was slightly lower as the Hang Seng heavyweight remains under pressure.
In mainland China trading, larger-cap companies outpaced smaller ones. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.02% was up 1% while the Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.69% gained 0.5%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.57% was up 0.4% after recent underperformance left it at six-month lows Monday. Banks recovered somewhat from Monday’s losses, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ, -1.85% , Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA, -2.09% and National Australia Bank NAB, -1.58% posting gains, though off session highs. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s benchmark NZ50GR, -0.30% slipped slightly.
South Korea’s Kospi SEU, +0.35% rose 0.6%, as Hyundai Motor 005380, +3.08% surged. Taiwan’s Taiex Y9999, +0.64% bounced back from Monday’s losses, with tech manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor 2330, +1.74% and Pegatron 4938, +5.56% leading the way.
Benchmarks in Singapore STI, -0.19% and Malaysia FBMKLCI, +0.19% were up, while Indonesia’s JAKIDX, -0.51% was about flat.
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