Japanese stocks edged down in choppy trade on Wednesday as investors struggled to find new catalysts, while many of them remained wary over the dollar-yen moves.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gave back Tuesday’s gain, fading 47.57 points, or 1.9%, to 17,048.55
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index eased 51.52 points, or 0.3%, to 20,615.23
The Japanese yen remained at 112 handle against the U.S. dollar, after the pair fell to the 111 level last week. The dollar/yen pair traded at 112.36 Wednesday afternoon local time. Major exporters were mixed, with Toyota adding 0.1%, Nissan down 1.1% and Honda down 1.3%
Asian energy plays were mostly lower, with Santos off 0.76 percent, Woodside Petroleum down 0.9% and Inpex losing 1.3%
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was flat at $0.7616 U.S. after climbing over the $0.76 level late Tuesday as Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens suggested further easing may not be on the cards in the near term, unless current economic conditions drastically changed.
Mining stocks in Australia ended mostly lower, with Rio Tinto closing flat and BHP Billiton losing 1.7%. Fortescue shares dipped 4.4%
Markets were also fairly quiet, with many traders taking to the sidelines ahead of the long Good Friday holiday weekend.
Asia markets, like their European and U.S. counterparts, mostly shrugged off a series of deadly explosions that rocked Brussels on Tuesday. Reports say the bombings at Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station killed at least 31 people and injured more than 230.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 10.3 points, or 0.3%, to 3,236.09
Chinese mainland shares of China Oilfield were down 0.5% and PetroChina was down 0.1%
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index docked 1.69 points, or 0.1%, to 1,995.12
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index dropped 19.59 points, or 0.2%, to 8,766.09
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index poked up 1.33 points, or 0.1%, to 2,881.98
The NZX 50 in New Zealand added 4.61 points, or 0.1%, to 6,668.87
In Australia, the ASX 200 settled 24.36 points, or 0.5%, to 5,142.27
