Asian markets were mostly lower Tuesday, with the Australian dollar dipping after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates at a record low, while Japanese stocks got a boost from a weaker yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index regained 94.59 points, or 0.6%, to 15,749.66
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index erased 128.08 points, or 0.5% to 23,910.47
The U.S. dollar pushed higher against the yen overnight and consolidated in Asian trade. The dollar gained 0.5% on Monday and traded at ¥103.19 Monday. Softness in the Japanese currency helped the Nikkei 225 gain ground.
Yen weakness in recent weeks has helped revive the Japanese stock market, which experienced rangebound trading for several months after crashing heavily earlier in the summer. With the market up 51.6% so far this year, the Tokyo stock rally is back on track.
Shares of Mazda Motor Corp. paced advancers in the auto sector, with their climb of 2.1% adding to Monday's rise of 2.3%. Among tech names, Fujifilm Holdings Corp. picked up 1.9%, TDK Corp. rose 1.2%. Financial issues, however, were mostly lower, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. off 0.2%.
Australia's central bank on Tuesday held its key interest rate at 2.5%, in line with expectations. The rate has been at the record-low level since a quarter-percentage point cut in August.
The Australian dollar dipped as low as 90.66 U.S. cents from 90.89 U.S. cents after the central bank said that "a lower level of the exchange rate is likely to be needed to achieve balanced growth in the economy."
The currency has been bumped around in recent weeks by remarks from officials at the central bank over whether it was likely to intervene in the currency markets.
Property shares fell as Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said Monday that risks of a property bubble ensure the government will continue enacting cooling measures for the sectors. Shares of China Resources Land Ltd. moved down 1.4%, Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. shed 1.1%, and Sino Land Co. shares slumped 0.9%.
Casino stocks, meanwhile, outperformed the broader market following government data showing gambling revenue in Macau climbed 21.3% in November compared with the year-earlier period. Wynn Macau Ltd. shares topped gainers in the sector as they jumped 2.1%.
CHINA
Chinese shares extended Monday’s selloff as investors continued to fret about oversupply of new shares ahead of an upcoming restart of the country’s initial public offering market.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index picked up 23.99 points, or 1%, to 2,442.78
The local securities regulator on Saturday released guidelines for a revamp of the country’s IPO system, which could mean the end to a 13-month hiatus in domestic listings.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index dipped 21.42 points, or 1.1%, to 2,009.36
Taiwan’s Taiex Index shed 22.06 points, or 0.3%, to 8,392.55
The Singapore Straits Times Index slipped 1.09 points to 3,187.67
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 8.48 points, or 0.2%, to 4,783.85
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 let go of 23.45 points, or 0.4%, to 5,256.07
