Asia stocks mixed; Australia and Hong Kong markets set to close earlier

FAN Editor

Asia markets were mixed in Tuesday morning trade following another record session on Wall Street.

Mainland Chinese stocks were higher in early trade on Tuesday after their Monday fall. The Shanghai composite added about 0.1% while the Shenzhen component gained 0.37%. The Shenzhen composite also rose 0.379%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.19%, with stocks set to end their trading day early at 12:00 p.m HK/SIN.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan was largely flat in morning trade, while the Topix index inched fractionally lower. In South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.27%.

Meanwhile, shares in Australia were little changed, with the S&P/ASX 200 flat. The Australian markets are set to close early at about 11:10 a.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday for Christmas Eve.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded about 0.1% lower.

Shares of Apple suppliers regionally were mixed on Tuesday morning. Taiyo Yuden was up 1.57% in Japan while South Korea’s LG Display slipped 1.56%. In Hong Kong, Sunny Optical added 0.51% while Taiwan’s Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dipped 0.3%.

The moves came following the Cupertino-based tech giant’s 1.6% stock jump on Monday stateside after Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives — Apple’s biggest bull on Wall Street — raised his price target to $350 a share, 25% higher than where the stock currently trades.

Overnight stateside, stocks extended their year-end rally as the three major averages all posted record closes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 96.44 points to close at 28,551.53 while the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to end its trading day at 3,224.01. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2% to close at 8,945.65.

News that China will cut import tariffs on a wide range of goods boosted sentiment. China’s finance ministry announced starting January 1, it will lower import tariffs on over 850 products ranging from frozen pork to some types of semiconductors. However, mainland Chinese stocks tumbled on Monday following that announcement.

“The move is not linked to US-China trade tensions, instead it is seen as a combination of a need from China to lower costs on import necessities such as pork and medicine, while also aimed at showing a willingness to open its economy to the rest of the world,” Rodrigo Catril, senior foreign exchange strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 97.67 after touching highs around 97.8 yesterday.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.39 per dollar after strengthening from levels around 109.5 in the previous session. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6918 after rising from levels around $0.69 yesterday.

Oil prices inched higher in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures adding about 0.1% to $66.45 per barrel. U.S. crude futures hovered above the flatline at $60.54 per barrel.

— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.

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