Asia markets closed mixed on Thursday — with mainland China markets recovering — as investors look to the trade talks between Beijing and Washington following the imposition of new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods during Asian hours.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 48.27 points, or 0.2%, to 22,410.82. The Japanese yen traded against the U.S. dollar at 110.80.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dumped 137.12 points, or 0.5%, to 27,790.46
Australian markets edged downward Thursday. Following the release of earnings before the market open, Santos ended the trading day up by 11.3% as it revived its dividend. In the airline space, Qantas Airways tumbled 2.8% after its pre-market open announcement of a record annual underlying profit.
The Australian dollar weakened during Asian trade, down by 0.7% to $0.7296.
The moves come amid political turmoil in the country as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull faces another challenge for the leadership of his party, following the resignation of Finance Minister Mathias Cormann earlier on Thursday.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 restored 12.08 points, or 0.4%, to 3,320.03
At 12.01 a.m. EDT on Thursday, the U.S. imposed an additional 25% duty on another $16 billion of Chinese imports.
Both the offshore and onshore yuan were weaker against the U.S. dollar at 6.8660 and 6.8686 respectively
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI returned to business with a gain of 50 points, or 1.6%, to 3,249.89
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 9.27 points, or 0.4%, to 2,282.60
In Taiwan, the Taiex index acquired 58.93 points, or 0.6%, to 10,863.13
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 shed 22.74 points, or 0.3%, to 9,139.87
In Australia, the ASX 200 lost 21.61 points, or 0.3%, to 6,244.37
